


What Can Be, What Will Be: Year Six

by 30KEWNE



Series: What Can Be, What Will Be [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angels, Anti-James, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Dark Severus Snape, F/M, Good Severus Snape, James Potter Bashing, Marauders' Era, Minor Character Death, Not Canon Compliant, Powerful Severus Snape, Severus Snape Has a Heart, Wordcount: 30.000-50.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2019-09-20 00:29:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 44,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17012064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30KEWNE/pseuds/30KEWNE
Summary: Severus and Lily prepare to enter their sixth year at Hogwarts. Their journey will not be as simple as one would think. The world grows darker and more ominous by the day as Voldemort and his Death Eaters begin warming up to wage war on the Wizarding World and Severus finds himself in a dire situation as unexpected consequences resulting from his Angelic abilities begin to work on his physical health in a devastating matter, forcing Lily into a dilemma that may change her life forever.





	1. And So It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, welcome to the second installment of the What Can Be, What Will Be series. There will be no short introduction chapter this time around, and no beating around the bush, we are getting right into what much of this specific installment will revolve around. If you have not read What Can Be, What Will Be: Year Five I highly recommend you do so before proceeding.

The fifth year at Hogwarts had finally ended, and sixth year was quickly approaching. Fifth year had been one hell of a ride. First with the beginning of his and Lily's relationship (which, by all means, was a good thing), then with Mulciber going to trial and getting arrested, his meeting with Amara the Angel and his Angelic abilities, then his acquiring of the most powerful hand-held weapon, the Emerald Dagger, which was currently sitting on the shelf in his room. The summer so far had been uneventful. Severus was continuing his research into a possible safe cure for Lycanthropy, but with little success. He and Lily spent every single possible moment together and their relationship continued to grow stronger, and some of their times together were much more heated than ever before, in a very good way. He also spent some time with Inias, who was looking at him weird their last meeting. Maybe he just imagined it, but it looked as if he were looking at someone who had some kind of major illness. When he asked about it, Inias just simply said it was nothing. 

The following weeks, however, as the middle of July approached, Severus did begin to feel a little...odd. When he went to get up out of bed one morning, he nearly fell over and had felt very dizzy. It passed by quickly, so he thought nothing of it. He and Lily were supposed to be meeting Remus and Mary later today. How they got all the way to Cokeworth from wherever they lived, he did not know, but he was glad to have his friends around. He and Lily went up to the park to meet them and Remus was looking much better than Severus had seen him in quite some time. Remus looked at Severus and noticed that he didn't seem to be all there. Mary, who had been clinging to Remus' arm also noticed apparently, because she had a look of concern on her face. 

"Sev, you okay?" Remus asked. 

Severus snapped out of his trance. "Yeah I'm fine, Remus." 

"Are you sure, Sev? You have been acting off all week. I have noticed. There are times where you can barely walk straight and the last time you tried to do any sort of magic, it looked like the hardest thing you'd ever done and you nearly passed out after," Lily interjected. 

"Wait, you can do magic outside of Hogwarts and not get caught?" Mary asked, intrigued. 

"Yes, I figured out how to circumvent their detection methods in the summer before our fifth year. As for my little incident last time, Lily, I admit it was strange, but I am fine now." 

"Look, Sev, I didn't want to bring it up, but I am genuinely concerned. I hear you in your room in the middle of the night sounding like you are trying to cough up a lung. Mom has noticed too, she asked me about you."

"I am fine, Lily. How many times do I have to tell you. You want proof? Here's the proof." He lit up his eyes and looked at the nearby tree. A branch suddenly split in two and crashed to the ground. Although the magic worked, it made Severus feel like his entire body was on fire. This was most definitely new. Although the last incident left him feeling dizzy and sick to his stomach, it was not painful. He was definitely going to write to Inias and ask him if he had any idea what was going on. This should not be happening.

Remus was still wary, Mary just looked neutral and Lily was the only one who spoke. "I am still worried, Sev, but I will take your word for now." 

Shortly after that, they walked over to a bench to sit down. Mary started this next conversation. 

"So, how do you think you did on your OWL's? We should be getting the results back next week," she said. 

"No idea, but I got a good feeling about it," 

"Of course you do. You kick everyone's ass on exams. This will be no different," Remus sniggered and Lily gave a lighthearted laugh as well. "I feel like I did decent though," he added.

"I think I did pretty good too," Lily said. "What about you, Mary?" 

"I think I did good for the most part. Defense sucked, however. I cannot get any of the basic tactics down and I do not understand what they mean by attack spells or passive spells or neutral spells. It all makes very little sense to me. This stuff will be heavy in the upcoming year and I need to know it." 

"Well I can tell you a few things. There are four types: aggressive, passive, neutral and benign. Attack spells are spells that can range from disarming, stunning, injuring, maiming or even killing. Take my Sectumsempra spell for example. Translate that to English and you can figure out exactly what it does. It is difficult to reverse and it will often cause serious injury to anyone hit by it. That is the prime example of an attack spell. A very aggressive one." 

"Passive spells are often used as countermeasures to attack spells. They are not meant to do any sort of bodily harm, but more to disorient or confuse. My spell Levicorpus falls under this category."

"Neutral spells don't have much to them, really. They are spells that can either help or harm, depending on the intent of the user. Most 'Dark Magic' is actually neutral magic, it is just the users that often make them volatile." 

"Last, we have the benign spells. Benign spells cannot be used in any way to harm somebody else. This consists mainly of healing magic and much of the magic we learn in Hogwarts, at least the early years. Many of these are very difficult to cast and should you attempt it without knowing how to do it properly, it will result in an energy drain without any sort of accomplishment. I hope this all clears it up for you," 

"It does, thank you so much. I was wondering, when we go back to Hogwarts, can you teach me how to fight properly? I don't want another Mulciber incident."

"I most definitely can. I must warn you though, you must be willing to learn. I will not tolerate any screwing around and I expect your very best effort. This is a serious matter, Mary." 

"I understand and I will give it my all." 

The rest of the afternoon passed by and they all found themselves heading home. Dinner passed by and Severus was about to lay down for the night when he remembered he needed to write to Inias. He asked Lily to borrow her owl and she agreed with no questions asked. He pulled out some parchment and began to write: 

Inias, 

I have a potentially serious matter on my hands. For the past week or so, I have been feeling off. It started when I tried to get out of bed one morning and felt very dizzy suddenly, but I didn't think much of it at the time. The next incident was when I tried to use magic and I felt a severe energy drain. It wasn't even difficult magic, just the usual stuff. The next time this happened, however, my entire body felt like it was on fire. I am also waking up in the middle of the night in a coughing fit, while my chest feels like it is going to explode. Lily has noticed and I tried to say that I am okay, but I know this is not the case. Please help me, Inias, I fear something may be seriously wrong. 

-Severus

After he sent the owl off with his letter, he laid down. Unable to fall asleep, he stared at the ceiling. He began coughing again, but this time wasn't as bad as the others that had suddenly woken him up in the middle of the night. Not even an hour later Inias sent a response back, and he knew that whatever was in the letter was nothing good, judging by the obviously erratic writing. 

Severus, 

You were correct to assume that something is seriously wrong with you. All of your symptoms point to a very serious condition. You need to take yourself to a healer IMMEDIATELY. This is not up for debate and I am heading out there myself to ensure that you are doing as you are told. 

-Inias

He read the letter and knew that Inias was right. He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He suddenly began coughing again, but this time, it was much worse than ever before. He held his hand up to his mouth and when be finished his coughing fit he brought his hand back down and noticed there was an alarming amount of blood on it. He began to feel dizzy again and slowly slid down onto the floor where blackness consumed him. 

 

Meanwhile, Lily was sitting in her room. She had once again been woken by Severus, violent coughing. She knew something was seriously wrong with him. She heard a knock on her door and noticed it was Inias. She was surprised to see him. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked. 

"I am coming to make sure Severus is doing as I told. I looked in his room and he wasn't there. Where did he go?" 

"I heard him walking to the bathroom. He's been in there for a while, I was just about to go check on him." 

After she got out of bed, both she and Inias walked to the bathroom. She knocked on the door and when she heard no response, she opened the door to a sight that would forever haunt her nightmares. Severus, the love of her life was laying on the floor bleeding from his nose and mouth and he looked completely lifeless. She quickly rushed to him. 

"Sev, my love, please wake up!" she yelled frantically over and over again. This also woke her parents, who rushed in several minutes later. 

"Lily, please back up. We need to get him to St. Mungo's immediately," Inias said. 

Lily did not respond. She just sat holding Severus in her arms, crying harder than anyone had ever heard her before. 

"Lily, listen to me. We need to get him to a healer. He will die otherwise. Please let him go," Inias said again, desperation in his voice. Violet and John gasped at this. They knew he hadn't been feeling well, but never assumed that his condition was possibly fatal. They knew what St. Mungo's was, it was a magical hospital. It wasn't long before they had him there of course. Lily was right behind Inias while the healers attempted to determine exactly what was wrong with Severus. After they came back, they called Inias in to talk to him and he left Lily in the room, but promised to tell her everything. Inias and a healer came back several minutes later. 

"I am Healer Jones, Miss Evans and the news I must present to you will not be easy to hear, so please prepare yourself." Inias and Lily nodded at her to continue. 

"In our initial scan, we found that Severus' organs sustained significant damage. Specifically the heart and the lungs. That can be repaired in time, so it is not the most alarming. What is the most alarming is the damage done to his magical core," Healer Jones said. 

"Just how bad is it?" Lily asked the dreaded question, forcing herself to remain strong. 

"Inias already filled me in on what happened with him and his magic last year. It is, of course, completely natural for him to possess this kind of magic, he has the perfect core for it. However, what you have witnessed is the after effects of the binding that was placed on him by his mother. The core develops alongside the body so situations like these do not typically happen. When his core was bound, it was not allowed to fully develop like it was supposed to and when Amara ripped the bindings away, all of that magic that had been sealed away suddenly filled a magical core that was not strong enough to contain it." 

"Why did this happen now? He was fine last year. He showed no signs of illness before." 

"That was because at Hogwarts you use your magic regularly. Now that he isn't using it, his core is beginning to break down. I am afraid that what you have seen is only the beginning. The only thing I can think of would be to bind his core again, but that would most likely do far more harm than good. At this point it would be like wrapping a chain around cracked glass." 

"What can we do?" Inias interrupted. 

"I will keep working on him as much as I can. Come back tomorrow when I have better results." 

They made their exit after that. When they broke the news to Violet and John they were of course very upset. Severus is like a son to them and the man they hope will marry their daughter. Inias went back home and after sitting down in his study, he did something he hasn't in a very long time, not since he gave up his only daughter. He cried. Cried for Mary, for Eileen, for Severus. The walls he had built around his emotions were broken just like that. The next day, he and Lily went back to St. Mungos and they were given even worse news than before. 

"I have done everything I can think of, and nothing is working. I even gave him that healing solution that Lily said he used to heal himself when his father had beaten him, and it only made his condition worse," Healer Jones said. 

"So what can you do? Lily asked, her voice so small, she could almost be mistaken for a child. 

Healer Jones shook her head. "I am afraid nothing can be done. At this point, just stay by his side until..." she didn't even have to finish her sentence. Both Inias and Lily knew what she meant. Severus was going to die and there was nothing they could do. Lily was not going to give up, however, and she stood up to Healer Jones. 

"You are a professional. You do this for a living. You are really going to stand there and tell me that the love of my life is on his death bed? Did you really try, or did you just deem him a lost cause just to move on to someone else?" Lily almost raged. 

"Miss Evans, I assure you that is not the case. You attend Hogwarts with my son. If you know him, then you know me." 

"Damon? Damon is your son?" Lily asked, realization hitting her. He knew the woman's name was familiar. 

"Yes, he is. His father was the love of my life as well and he was killed right in front of me. I know exactly what you are going through. Please believe me when I say that I have done all I can. I'd give him a couple of weeks at most, maybe a month. I really am sorry, Miss Evans." 

Lily sat back down after that. She buried her face in her hands and just cried. She didn't know how long she sat there before Inias put his hand on her shoulder and told her they should see Severus before they left. She walked into the ward that he was in and he looked so peaceful on the bed. He wasn't conscious, but he looked slightly better than the condition she initially found him in. She took her hand in his. 

"Sev, I don't know if you can hear me, but it's me, Lily. I know they told me that you have a month at most to live, but I am not going to let that happen. The world needs you...I need you. If you were gone, I don't know what I would do. Please hear me, my love. I am going to have to do something that you would despise. You will probably hate me when you wake up, but I would rather you be alive and hating me then the alternative. I love you so much, Sev. This will probably be the last time I can say this to you, so please hear me my love."

Once she was outside the room, she was met by Inias' questioning eyes. "What did you mean by what you said in there? What are you going to do?" 

"I am going to summon an Angel using an ancient ritual I found in that book you gave to Severus. I am going to bargain with him or her. Tell them they can do whatever they want with me, and in exchange they fix Severus," she responded. 

Inias' expression hardened. "No. Lily, no. You are not summoning an Angel. Ritual magic is incredibly complicated and not to mention illegal. If you get caught it is a life sentence in Azkaban automatically. Even if you do successfully perform it, what will you do if whoever gets called doesn't want to bargain? It's a huge risk on a very long shot."

"I know, but I have to do something." 

"I got the place you can do it at where you won't be detected by the Ministry. Lily? I hope you know what you are doing." 

After Inias took her to the hidden place, they got the necessary ritual set up. After speaking the required incantation, Lily cast an Incendio at the floor and it roared with fire for a brief second, before it was extinguished. 

"What happened? Did it work?" Lily asked. 

"Certainly." A voice spoke from across the room. Lily looked over to see a man dressed in a black suit with a dark blue shirt underneath and his eyes were glowing a bright blue color for a brief moment before they stopped. His voice was not exactly cold, but most definitely not warm like Amara's had been in the vision Severus showed to her once he mastered the ability to do so. 

The Angel spoke again in the same tone of voice. "Hello, Lily. So tell me, what brings me here?"


	2. Sacrifice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two already. I wish I could be this fast paced all the time. Hope you enjoy. Also, this chapter may get very confusing for some people. Read the end note at the bottom, and it will be explained better there.

After the Angel had spoken that sentence, Lily had a sense of foreboding come over her. She knew that he definitely was not going to grant her request out of the goodness of his heart. If this were Amara, she wouldn't be worried, but whoever this is, he has a much colder personality. 

"Well, clock's ticking Lily. You forced me to come and now I'm here, so what do you want?" The Angel asked.

"I need to ask a favor of you. It will be a big one and I will do anything you ask of me if it comes to that," Lily said. 

"What is it you ask?" 

"My boyfriend Severus Snape was visited by another of yours, Amara. She gave him his true potential after it had been bound by his mother, but, there were some consequences and it is now killing him. I want you to fix him." 

"Let me see if I have this right. Your lover has our abilities, had them sealed away very young and Amara removed the bindings, which is now causing his core to break down. And you want me to fix his condition?" 

"I told you he'd never go for it, Lily," Inias said. 

The Angel looked at him. "Actually, I'm intrigued." He looked back at Lily. "I shall do as you ask, but you know that I cannot do this without something in return. Our laws forbid it. Would you be willing to sacrifice a bit of yourself?" 

"Gladly. But what would be sacrificed?" Lily asked. 

"You have a few options. Option one includes killing you and giving your life force to him. Option two includes killing a surrogate for the same reason, someone close to you or him. There is also option three: I heal him using my very own magic and in return, you serve under our command for the rest of your existence." 

"What do you mean, serve under your command?" Inias asked. 

"It means that she will have to answer us when we call and she will have to obey every command we give her. If she disobeys then she must forfeit her life. It must be this way, since Severus has already been marked for death exactly two weeks from now," the Angel responded, although his voice had a hint of regret in it, as if he wished circumstances could be different. 

"I'll do it. I already said, whatever it takes," Lily answered. 

"Splendid. Oh, before I go, I'll be making the same proposition to Severus. Serve under our command and we will shorten the time for the both of you from life to until the abomination called Voldemort is defeated. He will have the right to refuse, of course, but since you two are so close, I will do both of you an extra favor. On your 17th birthday, two January's from now, your deal will come due. We will see you then," and with that he vanished. 

"Lily do you have any idea what you have done?" Inias asked.

"Yeah, saved the life of my boyfriend and your only family member that knows you exist," she retorted. 

"They are demanding you serve under their command. That is not a walk through the park, they may be asking you to kill for them, and if you refuse, you die. Why didn't you just let me do that? You are simply a teenage girl who has her whole life ahead of her, mine is more than half way done already." 

"Because, I had to be the one to do it. I don't know if you have ever truly been in love, but you have no idea what that did to me seeing him laying on that bed dying."

"Lily, you heard the way he spoke about Voldemort. They want him dead, and you just agreed to be their own personal weapon if that is what they need you as."

"Maybe. But I'll do it, if that is what it takes."

"You would never be able to pull it off, you aren't strong enough. Have you read today's news?" He handed Lily the newspaper and what she saw on the heading made her eyes widen. 

"DEATH EATERS ATTACK MUGGLE VILLAGE: 32 DEAD, 14 CRITICALLY INJURED."

"My god..." Lily whispered. 

"This was just a warm-up, Lily. It is going to get worse, much worse. I admire that you did this to save Severus, I truly do, but you're only 15 years old. This was just a sneak peek of how horrible things are quickly becoming," 

"I know. I will deal with it when the time comes. But for now, I have a year and a half to enjoy my freedom so I am going to do exactly that." 

 

Meanwhile, Severus was trapped in a seemingly black void. He heard the unmistakable soft voice of Lily in the distance, but could not make out exactly what she was saying. She was too far away. He tried to go to her, but the blackness was infinite. What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was being in the bathroom and then that was it. There was suddenly a bright white light and Severus found himself jolting up off the floor of some strange place. It looked like a normal house, but it felt...weird. Was he in the afterlife? 

"Severus Snape, I've been waiting for you." A voice said. 

"Who are you?" Severus asked. 

"An Angel, of course. Lily Evans attempted to summon Amara, whom I believe you are familiar with. She is busy and sent me instead," the Angel responded.

"Where am I?" 

"Just...behind the Veil. You're on Death's literal doorstep. But, lucky for you, I'm sending you back. But not before we discuss a rather important matter." 

"What do you want to discuss? What does it have to do with Lily?" 

"Well...I am here because she attempted to summon Amara, but got me instead as I have explained. She made a deal, a sacrifice, in exchange for me restoring your health." 

"What sacrifice did she make?" 

"I gave her three options: two of which involved death. She chose option three which involves her serving under the command of the Angels until her eventual death, and if she refuses she forfeits her life completely. I am here to make you the same proposition, only the optional version as opposed to the required one. In exchange for your cooperation as well as hers, we will set you both free as soon as Lord Voldemort is destroyed. You will be free to live your lives together, and we shall never interfere again. It is a one time only offer so think hard." 

Severus thought for a moment. He knew he should be angry with Lily for doing this...but he cannot bring himself to be. He cannot fault her for doing something he knows he would have done had their roles been reversed. But now if he does not agree, she will be theirs to command forever. This choice was easy. 

"I'll do it. But can I make the request that you never ask her to take a life unless it is in defense? I know that is what you had in mind. Fighting Voldemort will not be an easy fight nor will it be without casualties, I've experienced first hand what they are capable of. I will gladly be your own personal fighter. My alcoholic father and my mother who has almost killed me as of right now, caused me to lose my innocence long ago. I will not have hers ripped apart on my account."

"I can promise that she will never be asked to kill, nor will you. That was a misunderstanding, completely my fault. Only Voldemort will be required to have that sentence. We simply require assistance in circumventing his immortality and destroying the abomination for good. Whatever methods he is using cannot be detected even by us. So you two shall fulfill the purpose of putting the puzzle together so to say, when the time comes of course. Anything else we may require, you will be updated by either me or Amara. You both have nothing to worry about until your 17th birthdays. We will see you then," and with that the Angel raised his hand and Severus' world went white. 

He woke up in what he immediately knew was a hospital bed. He was told to lie still by a healer, as she checked him over. She went wide-eyed when she saw that he was in perfect condition, not a single thing wrong with him. What was even wrong with him? The Angel that...did whatever he did didn't bother to fill him in on the details. 

"Mr. Snape, you have made a full recovery. Last time I checked you, there was nothing that could be done. We were absolutely certain you were going to leave us," she said. 

"How's that possible?" Severus said, feigning ignorance. 

"I am not sure, but Miss Evans and Mr. Prince will be relieved. Do you even know what was wrong with you?" 

"No idea, all I knew was that I got out of Hogwarts, I was fine but then some time later I started feeling off. I thought nothing of it until using magic actually became painful. I coughed up blood once and then it was lights out until now." 

"Well, Amara, yes I know about her and what she did. When she gave you your power, or rather unsealed it, your core could not handle it. It was bound when you were so young and did not develop properly. All that power rushing into an underdeveloped magical core at once will cause it to burn out and that is fatal. Eventually, your core would have quit working entirely and a witch or wizard cannot survive without their magic. That is why magical exhaustion can also be fatal if severe enough. Although, the body will usually stop it from getting depleted enough for this to happen, and will temporarily block access to the core while it recharges on its own, it isn't entirely unheard of."

Severus pondered this. How had Mulciber survived then? He remembered draining his magical energy completely. Had he not done the spell right. or did it not drain all of his magical energy? The realization hit him there. He could very well have killed Mulciber that night. He had no idea that draining somebody's magical core was fatal, and it might have earned him a permanent cell in Azkaban. He shook this thought out of his head and asked the next question.

"Does that mean the issue is fixed completely? I feel completely normal." 

"Yes, it appears so. A scan of your magical core shows that it is fully functional and there are no abnormalities with it whatsoever. It is as if the incident never happened. The damage to your internal organs is also completely healed. Once someone arrives to take you home, you are free to go," and with that she walked away.

Inias came in shortly after. He briefly explained the events, but Severus told him he already knows what happened as the Angel filled him in. He also explained that he took the deal as well and that he had severely overreacted in thinking the Angel was asking Lily to kill for him. He is relieved that Lily could retain her innocence and that her deal is no longer permanent. Inias then took Severus home and both Violet and John were relieved to see that Severus was looking well again, but Lily was not here yet. After they took in the serious look on his face they became concerned. Except for Petunia of course, she never cared. 

"I need you all to sit down. That means you too Petunia. No snarky remarks, no nasty comments what I am about to explain is a very serious matter that involves both Lily and me," Severus said. 

"What is it?" Violet asked, worried. 

"Are you aware of what Angels are?" Severus asked. 

"The fictional things they tell us you should always pray to in church?" John asked. 

"Angels are not fictional, John, they are very real. However, they are by no means what you would be praying to in church. They are actually the very first magical beings to ever exist, the very creators of the Wizarding World. My enhanced magical abilities were made possible because one visited me and unbound my magical core, revealing my true potential. What you saw was the fallout of it not developing properly with it being bound when I was so young. It was killing me." 

"But you're okay. Whatever it was got fixed didn't it?" 

"Yes it got fixed. But it wasn't that cut and dried. I would have been dead soon. Realizing this, Lily found an Angel summoning spell and demanded that he save me in exchange for her freedom. She would be to serve their every command until the day of her death," Violet, John and even Petunia were horrified at this. Before they could speak, Severus continued.

"The Angel visited me. I was literally in the space between the living and the dead. He sent me back, but not before offering me the same proposition that he made Lily. I also swore my allegiance to them, only mine was in exchange of freeing us both to live our lives after the evil wizard Lord Voldemort was defeated for good. That could still be years from now, but at least it won't be forever." 

"I don't...I don't know what to say. She saved your life, but what does that mean for her?" Violet asked. 

"It means that until Lord Voldemort is brought down, me and her serve the Angels starting on our 17th birthday. We are to be freed as soon as he is gone for good." 

"You saved my baby. I don't know how to thank you," Violet said. 

"You don't need to. I would have done the same for someone else even if it wasn't Lily. I cannot allow somebody to lose their life or freedom over me." Severus responded. 

Just then, Lily walked in. She saw Severus and immediately ran to him. He lifted her up and they kissed, deeply. He ran his fingers through her hair and she buried her face in his shoulder, giving a small cry. 

"It worked. He really saved you," she said. 

"Yeah, my love, he did." 

"You aren't angry with me?" 

"I wanted to be, believe me. But I realized that if our roles were reversed, I would have done the same thing. I lost all power to be angry after that and was instead thankful. I am not ready to die just yet, I still got much left I want to do." 

"We'll deal with this together, like we always do." 

"Together," Severus agreed and took her hand. Violet and John observed from the background and they were so happy to see Lily and Severus reunited. They knew she would be forever lost if he were ripped away from her so suddenly. 

Later that night, Petunia actually went to Lily's room. Lily, of course, assumed she would be there to insult her. 

"If you are here to insult me, Petunia, don't bother. I stopped being bothered by your insults four years ago. Just give it up," Lily said. 

"I am not here to insult you. Did you really give yourself up for him, and then he did the same for you in return?" Petunia asked. 

"That is the short version of it, anyway." 

"Look, I want to apologize. I know I have been cruel to you for much of our lives. It is time that I do admit it was unjustified. I was jealous of your magic and there is a lot to magic that I don't and will never understand. I mean I now know that Angels are real. They aren't what we are told they are, but still, they're real and that was a shock I never thought I would get. I was also jealous of the fact that you have always been so much prettier than I am. You had Severus wanting your affections since you guys were nine years old. I could never get anyone to look my way no matter what I did. I am ugly and I am a foul person, I admit that. I know you will never forgive me, but I had to say all that." 

"Petunia that is not true. You are not ugly and you are a good person. You just admitted that you were jealous and jealousy can make people do stupid things, trust me I know. I could forgive you, if you show that you truly want my forgiveness. It will take a bit of time before I can trust you, of course." 

"I understand. But, I don't feel pretty compared to you. I often find myself wondering if I even love Vernon or if I am just with him because he was the only guy who have me attention." 

"You want to know how I knew that I was in love? Because whenever Severus is around, I find myself feeling happier than whenever he isn't. I find myself feeling as if I will be safe no matter what in his presence. Whenever I see him hurt, I hurt as well. I felt like I was going to die alongside him when he was in the hospital. If you even have to ask that question then you already know the answer. You are not in love with Vernon."

"I think I am going to break up with him. You are right. I don't love him." 

"Thank goodness for that. He's a total pig anyway," they laughed at that.

"I was wondering if we could start over, Lily? I know you said that it will take time to forgive me, but still, can we?" 

"Of course we can, Petunia. I will always be your sister, even if you were downright cruel to me at times." With that, they did what they hadn't done in a long time. They hugged one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify: the Angel is not asking Lily and Severus to kill for him. Inias was overreacting with that and Lily was simply getting ready to prepare herself for worst-case scenario should that happen. The Angels are not corrupted beings and do not wish to see anybody dead, unless it is absolutely necessary. Lily's deal is a result of her asking them to stop Severus from dying when it had already been set in motion and that always requires a sacrifice of some sort. In this case it was her giving her freedom to them, so she wouldn't have to die in his place right away, but would settle the debt instead when her natural life came to an end. Severus' deal was optional, and it was to ensure Lily would get her freedom back and they could live their lives together once Voldemort is defeated.


	3. Wand Replacements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome back. I would have had this done sooner, but I got stuck while writing and couldn't figure out where I wanted to go with this chapter and then the Holidays were upon me before I knew it. I finally have it done though, so I hope you enjoy.

Summer vacation has nearly come to an end. At the beginning of August, it was decided that Severus and Lily would go to Diagon Alley so they can get their school supplies for sixth year and Severus could get a replacement for his wand that was destroyed last year. He would definitely miss that wand, it was a good one and it had served him well. He found himself using a spare one from Hogwarts that resisted him heavily, and using Lily's wand from time to time. Hers actually functioned properly while he used it, but it was not his own and did not feel the same. He did not technically need a wand anymore, but his general magic is a lot harder to access without one and he finds it much easier to just use a wand. Wandless magic of any kind takes years to master and even Severus does not have that kind of experience. Even though Celestial magic is natural to him it is because his natural conduit is already tuned to tap into it. When it comes to general magic, however, he is far less advanced with it. Finding a wand that would work is the true difficulty. His wand exploded from the amount of power he put through it and he needed to make sure that whatever wand he would receive next wouldn't suffer the same fate. 

He was relieved about a few things, however. This year, there would be no pressure for exams at the end of the year, so he and Lily could spend much more time together. Avery and Mulciber were expelled from Hogwarts last year and Wilkes and Rosier would be leaving this year as well as they are one year ahead of him. They are not the only Elitists in the house, but they are the biggest ones. There weren't any others as far as he knew that were waiting to join the Dark Lord as soon as they left Hogwarts. Frank Longbottom is also a seventh year, meaning he would be graduating as well. After this year, he would be temporarily losing one of his friends, but at least Damon, Mary, Remus, Alice and Cassandra were all in his year. He had the honor of actually meeting Damon's mother earlier in the summer, although he wished circumstances could have been different for sure. As the Jones name was not any known Pureblood name, she had to be Muggleborn or at the very least a Half-Blood. 

A few hours later, in the middle of the afternoon Severus and Lily were in Diagon Alley. They had gathered all of their school supplies and textbooks and the only thing left to do was get a new wand for Severus. They walked into the shop and in front of them was Damon and a girl with similar resemblance to him. Damon noticed Severus immediately and spoke. 

"Ah, Severus, Lily, I was wondering if I would catch you here today. Heard you nearly left us some time back, I am glad to see you still among the living," Damon said. 

"You heard about that huh?" Severus asked. 

"Well, of course I did. My mother knows about our friendship and she was one of the healers who worked on you. She told me what was going on, well not exactly, but enough that I could piece it together myself."

"Who is this?" Lily asked, suddenly speaking up. 

"It's my little sister, Verlaine. She is starting Hogwarts this year. She is very shy, so don't take it personally. We just got her wand and I was about to leave when you walked in," Damon responded.

"Well don't let us keep you then. We need to get Sev his new wand and then we'll be heading home," Lily said. 

"Alright, take care guys. See you on the Hogwarts Express," and with that he and his sister made their exit.

Severus and Lily walked up to the counter where they were greeted by Ollivander. He looked up at them with his usual smile. Severus wondered if there was ever a time where the old man wasn't smiling. 

"Ah, I remember you two very well. Miss Evans was an easy pick, but you Mr. Snape, I recall you doing quite a fair amount of damage to the shop in an attempt to find the wand that suits you best. 10 inches, Hawthorne and Unicorn Hair, am I right?" he asked. 

"Yes sir. I am actually here to see about getting a replacement. I got into a scuffle with some unpleasant house members last year and the wand was destroyed." 

"Well let's see about getting you a replacement then, shall we?" 

They went through every single wand that was even remotely similar to the one he had owned originally. None of them were right for him. A couple of them were close, but not right. Others reacted rather violently. They even tried some with a similar length, wood and core and nothing. Ollivander was stunned, this was not a common problem. 

"Is there any that will work for him? If not, is there another solution?" Lily asked. 

"There are a few more we can try. They are very rare and some have been here as long as I have. Let's try this one first," Ollivander said and he handed Severus a wand that was white with very faint, hardly noticeable emerald green swirls on it. Severus took the wand and it reacted just like his original one did when he first touched it. He cast a simple spell and it worked perfectly. It was not weakened in power like the spells were with his temporary wand and the wand did not feel awkward to his magic as Lily's had. 

"Very interesting Mr. Snape. The wand you are holding is at least 60 years old. I tried this wand for many years and could not find anybody that it would work for. I was beginning to worry that it had diminished beyond use, but you have demonstrated that it is still very much alive." 

"What is so special about this wand? On the outside, it looks different, but there is nothing special about it after that as far as I can tell," Severus said.

"Well, most wands excel at something specific. For example, Miss Evans' wand excels at Charms and yours did at Defense. I have been unable to determine where this particular wand excels at because there are none specific. It excels at everything." Ollivander stated. 

"If this wand is 60 years old, why has it been here until now?" 

"Everyone I tried it with was unable to get any kind of reaction out of it whatsoever. A wand can diminish overtime, depending on its core. Some will and some will not. This is a custom made wand. It is 12 inches in length, contains an unknown wand core and is made from an Evergreen Pine Tree. Normally, pine cannot be used as a wand core as it is not sturdy enough, but whatever core is in this wand, has made it possible." 

"Do you have any idea as to what can do that?" 

"I do not and that is what stumbles me. I have studied wands my entire life and have seen every core and their effects, even those I do not use. I checked the core of this wand to all other known wand cores and I have found nothing that matches it. It truly is one of a kind." 

"What will the cost be?" 

"There will be none. All I ask is that you take care of it and use it wisely." 

"I will, sir. Thank you," and with that he and Lily left the shop. 

Once they arrived home, Severus put his new wand with the rest of his stuff. Once they were alone, Lily asked him about the wand. 

"Do you think the core could be Angel hair?"

"No. I know it isn't Angel hair. It is from a creature not indigenous to this country. I can't remember what it is called. It has a ridiculously long and hard to pronounce name," he responded.

"At least you have a wand again," Lily said. 

"Yeah, tell me about it. That substitute wand was getting on my nerves. My spells were not accurate, they were weak, they would not work correctly half the time, it was just causing me far too many problems." 

"That is the exact reason why witches and wizards cannot use just any wand. How different it is from the user, will have varying effects. If it is somewhat similar to the user, but not perfect, it will just simply have an awkward feeling like mine did. If the difference is moderate, it will have the effect the wand you used last year did. If it is a great difference, it can have a pretty violent reaction like some of the wands did when we were 11 years old."

"Well, in that case, I am glad that the difference wasn't too bad. I wouldn't want to be blowing stuff up every time I needed to cast a spell for classes. My OWL score in Defense took a huge hit because of the inaccuracy of my spell casting." 

"I know, I was there when you got your scores. I was honestly surprised that you only got an E in your best subject, until I remembered why that was. Mary mentioned to me that your spell casting was truly awful and seemed to hit everything but what you were casting at. No offense to you, of course." 

"None taken, she is correct. Accuracy is not such an issue with passive spells, but with attack spells it needs to be pinpoint accurate." 

"Understandable since they are used in battle. If you can't hit your target that would pose you problems." 

They continued to discuss magic related matters for a while. Severus then asked her a question that he wasn't sure if she would want to answer. He asked her about how her relationship with her sister was going,

"I noticed that you and Petunia seem closer than you have been in years. How are you two doing?" he asked. 

"We're doing great. She is actually making an effort to understand our nature. She even dumped that idiot Vernon, courtesy of some advice I gave her. She can do much better than that disgusting pig. I almost wanted to vomit whenever he walked in the room. The reason he called me a whore on Christmas was because he was angry that I wouldn't sleep with him," she answered.

"What? He tried to get you to sleep with him while he was dating your sister? You aren't even of age, in either world!" he said, outraged. 

"Oh yeah. I didn't say anything because I knew Petunia wouldn't believe me and my parents would have had him in jail in a heartbeat for making sexual advances on an underage girl. I didn't want to ruin Petunia's happiness. She is my sister, despite what she has done to me. She seemed genuinely happy with him." 

"Well I am glad she came to her senses. I would have killed him. As much as Petunia annoys me, she doesn't deserve to be treated that way. Nobody does. I may be biased here because of how I grew up, but being loved by someone like that is a blessing, I would never sabotage it." 

"I feel the same way, Sev. I felt like the happiest person in the world when you kissed me that day and I still do. When I see people do what Vernon did, it makes me thankful that our love is as strong as it is. I shudder to think who I may have ended up with had it not been you. Everyone sees me for my looks, but you saw me for me and I love you for it." 

"I love you too, my beautiful flower. You have always been the light in my world." 

He kissed her deeply and passionately. He buried his hands in her hair. She always loved it when he did that or when he would run his hands through it as they cuddled. Many would find his fascination with her hair strange, but she found it to be absolutely adorable. After they broke apart, she laid her head on his shoulder and he began to slowly stroke her hair as he always did. She closed her eyes and savored the lovely feeling that filled her heart. She has always been aware of just how much he loved her hair. When they first met, he could never take his eyes off of it, and when she realized she was interested in him more than just as a friend she stopped cutting it as well, only doing so by a negligible amount. Her parents caught onto her intentions quickly and found it to be rather amusing at first. Even though they are together now and she knows that he would not love her any less if she did decide to cut her hair, she still chooses not to do so, just because of how often Severus likes to run his hands through it whenever they kissed or cuddled. It was one of his major ways of showing her affection and she absolutely loved it. Moments like these were always the greatest, and she could not wait to see how amazing things would get in their future, once they settled their debt with the Angels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used the traits of Draco Malfoy's original wand for the wand of Severus as I do not know what the traits of his wand actually are. I looked it up and couldn't find anything, so if you guys find something about it please do let me know and I'll go back and change it.


	4. The Celestial Network and Past Comes Knocking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys...so I apologize for not updating in a while. I commonly suffer from depression and sometimes it is so bad that I barely have the energy to get out of bed, let alone do anything else. I did not want to put this chapter on hold, but I honestly could not bring myself to write it and make it readable at the same time. I don't know how well this is going to turn out, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. 
> 
> WARNING: attempted rape in this chapter. You may want to skip over this one if you find that too difficult to read.

In an unknown location, two Angels sat. They appeared to be having a very heated argument. One of these Angels, Amara was very displeased with the other's recent actions and did not hesitate to make it known. 

"Why in our name would you do that Ephraim?" Amara asked, furious. 

"Lily Evans demanded it of me. What else was I supposed to do, just turn her away?" Ephraim answered with no interest. 

"I sent you to bargain with her and her only. She was the one who made the deal, so why include Severus as well? He has had a hard enough life and it is only going to get harder for him." Amara said. 

"You want to know why I included Severus, Amara? The cold hard truth? Well here it is. I included him because I cannot stand the arrogant brat. I think he is selfish, hot-headed and a very dangerous loose cannon. If it weren't for the Evans girl he would have already snapped by now. I know of his initial intention to join the Death Eaters. Don't be fooled into thinking her presence will stop the inevitable. It is merely delaying it. I do not expect him to survive the war against Voldemort, in fact I am hoping he doesn't. He is unworthy of our power and unworthy of the Evans girl." 

"Wow and you wonder why I am the Guardian and not you. You are a borderline sadist, Ephraim. What his mother and father have both done to him is beyond cruel. He came out of his situation better than others would have."

"As if I care about what those imbeciles have done. Tobias Snape was filth and he got put down like the dog he was. Eileen Prince was a disgrace just like her son. A downright coward. She was beyond powerful and sat back while her husband beat both her and her son relentlessly. Inias Prince is hardly any better for casting out his own daughter for bogus reasons." 

Amara's look turned dangerous at that and she spoke in a voice colder than ever before. "Don't you think you are better than I am. If anyone is a loose cannon it is you. I am older than you and that means I am stronger. I could, as you eloquently said, put you down like the dog you are without effort. Do not give me a reason to do so. Severus will be the savior of this world and he will have Lily Evans by his side as he strikes down Lord Voldemort." 

Ephraim went to respond but Amara wasn't done. "I will be handling their debts from now on. They should be answering to somebody who actually cares and isn't teetering on the line of sadism. At least under my command, their debt will truly be settled once Voldemort is gone as you promised and there won't be any loopholes that I know you would attempt to find. Don't you dare get in my way or I will go through with my word and you will cease to exist," and with that she disappeared without a trace.

"Yeah, we shall see about that Amara. Time for Plan B," with that he also disappeared.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Lily and Severus were spending yet another day with each other as they have nearly every day this summer. Their relationship continued to grow stronger and Lily was beginning to wonder if they should take it to a more...intimate level. She knows of the promise she made to her mother about not doing anything like that yet, but at times she desperately craved to be with him in that way. Lily decided to voice this to Severus and get it into the open air. 

"Sev..." she started. 

"What is it my love?" he asked, looking into her eyes. 

"I have been thinking...we have been together nearly a year now and..." she trailed off. 

"What are you thinking of Lily? I haven't done anything wrong have I?" he asked, his insecurities beginning to take over. 

"No, you haven't. I promise. I have just been contemplating on whether we should take our relationship to the next level. I have wanted to for a while now." 

"As in..." he started. 

"Yes, Sev. I want us to be together in that way. I want us to make love to one another. I want us to be connected in every way possible," with that he suddenly kissed her. 

"It will happen soon my love." 

"How soon?" she asked as he started running his hands up and down her sides. 

"Very soon," he answered as he slowly slid his hands under her shirt. She felt a shiver run down her spine at the sudden contact. However, it did not last very long as she was violently ripped from him and had a wand pressed against her temple. A menacing voice spoke. 

"Oh dearie me. Did I interrupt something? That is just a shame." Severus immediately reacted, the Emerald Dagger in his hand in a flash. Unfortunately, the attacker noticed it immediately. 

"Ah, you put that blade down Snape or things will get very, very bad for you and the Mudblood here. Throw it away right now." Severus noticed Lily's situation and had no other options but to oblige. He tossed the dagger a few feet away. 

"Now I bet you are wondering who I am. Well I am the father of that boy you put in Azkaban. Call me Mulciber Sr. if you will. I am going to put things right." He then threw Lily to the ground and put his wand away. He looked at Severus and spoke again, a sadistic smirk on his face.

"Here is what I am going to do. First I am going to take Lily right here and make you watch. Then I am going to kill her, then you and then we'll be even. Does that sound like a good plan to you? It does to me. Also, the Dark Lord sends his regards," he finished before turning back toward Lily. She attempted to crawl away but he bound her with a quick binding spell. 

"Now, don't even try to escape. It will only make it worse," Mulciber smiled. 

"You go to hell," Lily spat back, defiantly. 

"Oh, you're a tough one. All the others I've taken were quaking in fear right about now. This will make it even more fun." 

"You let her go," Severus called back. "I swear you have five seconds or I will tear you limb from limb."

Mulciber just laughed. "No you won't. You can't even do magic outside of school." 

Before he could turn back to Lily, however, Severus' eyes flared. Mulciber looked on in shock at first, but then in horror as a visible aura surrounded Severus and shadowy wings spread out behind him. The sign of his true power. Mulciber attempted to back away, but Severus merely raised a hand and Mulciber was raised into the air as Severus' aura and wings vanished. He held out his other hand and the Emerald Dagger was in it once again. 

Mulciber dropped to the ground as Severus approached him. Before he himself even knew what he was doing, he plunged the blade into Mulciber's chest. Mulciber cried out as the blade's magic began filling the veins within his body with green light. After several moments the light began to dissipate and Mulciber's magic was ripped from his body with a bang. Mulciber fell to the ground, looking up at the sky with lifeless eyes. He checked for a pulse and there was none. He was dead. Severus had killed him. He pulled the dagger out of Mulciber's body and wiped it off on the dead man's cloak. He was so shocked at what he just did, he barely noticed Lily's soft voice calling his name or that another man had just appeared. 

"Scum of the Earth. You did this world a good service young man. I've been tracking him for ages when I found him attacking the two of you. Some serious magic you displayed. See to it that you stay on the good path. I'll make sure the Ministry knows this was in defense." He took Mulciber's body and apparated away.

Severus went over to Lily who had been freed once Mulciber died. She quickly hugged him and broke down. 

"Shh, Lily, he's dead. He won't hurt you anymore. Yes, I did it. I killed somebody," he said. 

"He deserved nothing less. I was terrified of him, of what he was going to do to me. But then I saw you and I knew that he wouldn't get away with it. You didn't tell me you had wings, Sev. They're magnificent." Lily said, voice shaky.

"They aren't actually real, Lily. It was only a projection. I wasn't even aware of this ability until now. I felt a sudden rush of magic and there they were. I suspect it was limited because of my weakened core but when it got fixed, I had full access." 

"They're still magnificent." 

"Let's get you home. We need to tell your parents what happened." 

Once they got home they did indeed tell John and Violet. That was not a pretty scene at all. John swore he would hunt down whoever attempted to violate his daughter and kill him, until Severus informed him that he had already done so. John settled down with a simple 'good riddance.' The four of them all hugged one another in a group hug, Severus was the only one who had not broken down right there in that moment. He was still in shock if he was being honest with himself. Thinking about killing somebody was one thing, but actually doing it? A whole different story. He put the Emerald Dagger on its resting place in his room and laid down in his bed that night. Sleep did not come to him, not right away until he heard Lily come in. She asked if she could sleep in his room with him as she kept having flashes of that vile Mulciber in her mind. She got into bed with him and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Under normal circumstances, they would be in serious hot water from John and Violet, but given the circumstances, they would understand. It was then, that sleep came to them with him holding her tight and her resting her head on his chest, listening to the sweet sound of his heartbeat. 

XXXXX

Meanwhile, back at the unknown place, Ephraim was chained up with suppression chains on a sort of stage. Amara was standing next to him with a blade in her hand and at least a few hundred Angels were watching. 

"What is our most sacred word?" Amara called out. 

"We are the True Light. We do not harm others directly or indirectly unless absolutely necessary," they answered back with enthusiasm. 

"What punishment befalls anyone who breaks this word?" Amara said. 

"Those who break the sacred word will meet the end of a Celestial Dagger." They called back.

"Ephraim here has broken his word. He sent an evildoer to cause harm to two followers of the Light. Such a transgression cannot be excused or forgiven." She turned to Ephraim. "Any last words before your sentence is carried out?" she asked. 

After several moments, Ephraim did not answer. She stabbed Ephraim straight through the heart with her blade and he died in a similar fashion to Mulciber, but with a way bigger explosion. She unchained his corpse and let it fall to the ground. She turned to the rest of the Angels. 

"Now, I want to make clear that I hope this never happens again. I do not wish to be in this position. Let this be a reminder to each and every one of you that our society matters. I will not have it tainted by greed and a lust for power." 

"Yes Commander Amara. This shall not happen again," the other Angels called back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh the plot thickens. Mulciber Sr. interrupts what would have been an intimate moment and a sadistic Angel. But is said Angel actually right about Severus? We will know in time.


	5. Sixth Year Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I know I said I would update soon...well this chapter ended up being much longer than I initially planned and then my internet decided it wanted to screw up. I got this chapter finished and most of the next one, so expect another update tomorrow or the next day. After that, I have no idea when I will be able to update again because my first class is tomorrow morning, but I will try to post as often as I can. Until then, I hope you enjoy.

The beginning of sixth year was quite different than the previous. For starters, in the time leading up to it, there were numerous deaths and disappearances to which prime suspect was none other than Lord Voldemort and his followers. Ever since this entire thing started, panic began to spread throughout the country. Severus was amazed at how one person could instill such fear into so many people so quickly. There was nothing at first and then suddenly, there were at least 50 muggles kand over a dozen witches and wizards killed in just a few weeks. There were many who tried to fight, but none lasted longer than a few seconds. If Severus had to admit, he was afraid. Not for himself, but for those who couldn't fight. He was afraid for the poor defenseless muggles who were being tortured, raped and killed. He was afraid for the witches and wizards who weren't strong enough to defeat the man who desired to rule the entire world. 

Lily, who was sitting across from Severus was having similar thoughts. So many people killed in such a short time. How were they even to fight back? She was also afraid of what was going to happen in the future. People were going to die and there was nothing anybody could do to stop it. People were going to die just because one person felt as if the magic he already had wasn't enough, so he had to get greedy and decide that he would be everybody's master in the new world he desired to control. If somebody would do something so horrible as to slaughter children even, then there was nothing they would not do to get what they want. 

Once the pair arrived at Hogwarts Severus noticed it immediately. The wards around the castle and its grounds had been strengthened significantly. Given the current times, this was not surprising. This was a matter that needed to be taken seriously and Dumbledore knew that extra security was the only way that people would feel safe, since everybody now knew what Voldemort's goals were, by his own words. At the opening feast, Dumbledore announced that derogatory terms such as 'mudblood' would no longer be tolerated and anybody caught using it would be punished depending on the infraction. It was about time, honestly. Severus heard that word so often in his house, it may as well have been part of the common vocabulary. The following day, Severus caught up with Lily after finishing his conversation with Mary and the two began their common conversation.

"So, what are your plans for this year, Sev?" Lily asked. 

"Honestly? Just get through it. Although, without the pressure of OWLs, I have a feeling it won't be nearly as stressful," Severus responded. 

"I agree. Also, I wanted to ask if you are still willing to teach Mary how to be better at defense? You said you would help her," Lily asked. 

"Yeah, I am still willing to do so, I was just talking to her about it. I told her I'd meet up with her every Saturday afternoon. As long as she treats it like the serious matter it is, there won't be any problems." 

"I am glad you are willing to help her, Sev. After what that vile person attempted to do to her last year, I want her to be able to protect herself." 

"As do I. She is my friend too and after being forced to watch my mother go through that time after time, I couldn't let anybody else." 

"We should get ready for classes. I always hate first days, they are always boring and there is hardly ever anything to do. These are the only days I ever want homework," Lily finished with a laugh. 

Severus let out a laugh of his own. "I have to agree. I am the type of person that does not like doing nothing." 

Lily could not help but feel there was a secondary meaning to that, although she kept this thought to herself. Given recent events, it would not be surprising that he wanted to be out there doing something rather than being stuck here in school. Until the both of them came of age and finished their education, there was nothing either of them could do. 

The rest of the week was nothing too spectacular. Just classes and work. The new defense professor was...incompetent to see the least. Severus liked the previous teacher. She was tough, but fair and knew what she was doing. She had to leave due to health issues, unfortunately, and her replacement was awful. This person hardly delivered what he was trying to teach in an intelligible way and he never stayed focused on a single subject. If he wasn't already very powerful magically, he'd be worried that this guy would only slow his learning process. On the other hand, he was definitely worried about the rest in the class, especially Mary. She had a tough enough time learning last year, but with this guy teaching, it would only get worse. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to have a real dislike for the new teacher, most of the class did as well, even Lily. Frank was neutral, Alice didn't seem to mind him too much, Mary found him irritating, Remus felt the same way Severus did, Cassandra was...well Cassandra and Damon let out quite a few cuss words by the end of the week. 

Saturday had finally arrived and Severus met Mary on the seventh floor in the hidden room he had found. It seemed to appear out of nowhere and could turn itself into whatever he wished it to be. How he had never found it before, he would not know, but this was super useful. Mary was the first to speak once they were inside. 

"So, what will we be starting with?" she asked. 

"I figured we would start small and then work our way up. Obviously, nothing too dangerous, but enough that you can understand better should you find yourself in another bad situation. We'll start with defense. I'll fire spells at you and you'll do your best to block or evade them." Severus answered. 

"Okay, fair enough." 

There was not much more conversation after that, they got right to it. Severus knew he could not go full power, for obvious reasons, but he had more than enough control over his magic to be able to do this. He started off with a simple Expelliarmus which got her the first time, but she quickly learned how to block and evade it after that. The next spell he tested her with was a low powered stunning spell. It wouldn't knock her unconscious should it connect, just simply knock her off her feet worst case. It was not a problem, however, because out of the multiple times he tried, she blocked it. He even attempted to catch her off guard, but she was ready and simply sidestepped it. Over two hours had passed and Severus felt it was time to call it a day. 

"Okay, what have you learned today?" he asked. 

"To always be ready, and that blocking with a shield does not always work, sometimes you actually have to physically avoid an incoming attack," she answered. 

"That's right, because some spells cannot be blocked by shields and if you are caught unaware you won't have time to get one up and you'll be hurt, maimed or killed depending on the situation. Shields are effective, but don't always rely on them. You learned that part exactly as I was hoping you would. Next week if you feel ready we'll do the same thing, but you'll be attacking and I'll be defending. Once you have that part down, we'll do an actual duel. Obviously nothing dangerous, but enough that you can understand how it works properly. We'll continue on from there, because there is more to magic that I would like to teach you eventually. I can't show you how to do everything that I can do, because many of my abilities cannot be learned, but the ones that can be will help you greatly." 

"What do you mean, things you can do that can't be learned?" 

"I will explain it to you when that moment comes. It is a very long story that will require a lot of explanation and even some demonstration." 

"Alright, if you say so. I am going to meet Remus before curfew. I'll see you later." With that she made her exit and Lily came in a little while later. 

"How'd it go?" Lily asked. 

"It went very well. She is a fast learner. I don't understand how she had so much trouble, honestly, but if it helps keep her safe, then I'll keep teaching her," he answered. 

"What are you still doing in here, then?" she asked, sitting down on the furniture that had been conjured.

"I was just thinking. I know I said I would simply teach Mary how to defend herself against Slytherins, but she needs to know more. She needs to know how to be offensive and I intend to teach her. I just want to know if it is the right call," Severus confessed. 

"I think it is. Given what we know, and as much as I hate to mention blood status, for people like us, it could turn into a fight or die situation very quickly. Me and Mary are muggleborn and if they were to get wind of your power, they would consider you a top priority target, simply because of the threat you could pose." 

"I'm not worried about that. If they do decide to try to come after me, they will have a bad time. I am not some average wizard, Lily. It would take a hell of a lot more to take me down." 

"But you aren't immortal, Sev. It may be harder to kill you, but it is still possible. I just want you to be careful, because I can't lose you, I am certain that would destroy me," 

"I am being careful, Lily. I am not deliberately trying to expose myself, but if it does happen, I am not terribly worried about it." 

After this conversation, Severus and Lily went back to their respective common rooms. Severus was met by Damon at the door. 

"How did your session with Mary go?" Damon asked. 

"It went well. She's a fast learner once she knows what she is doing," Severus responded. 

"You two seem to compliment each other well. You sure you made the right call by dating Lily?" Damon joked. 

"Absolutely sure. I belong to Lily and only Lily. Mary is dating my best friend anyway," Severus said, knowing Damon was merely joking. 

"Well, Lily is the best of both worlds. She's pretty and smart. You definitely got lucky there," 

"What about you, Damon? You got your eye on anybody?" 

"No, not right now. I have been focusing on finishing my education first. Then again, with the world heating up out there, I am not sure I want to get involved with anyone until after everything settles down once Dark Tosser is toast." 

"You believe that will happen?" 

"Absolutely, Sev. I believe it will be by your hands too. Dumbledore may have age and experience, but he's too much of a pacifist and he believes everybody can be redeemed. You've got the aggression and you can see the truth when you need to that some people are just too far gone. You're not afraid to make the hard choice." 

Severus looked around and despite the room being empty, he put up a Muffliato just to be sure. "I already have done that, Damon. Over the summer, me and Lily were attacked by Mulciber's father. He attempted to force me to watch as he raped her. He was then going to kill her right in front of me and I was going to be next. I allowed my magic to take over and I eventually stabbed him in the heart with the Emerald Dagger. Let's just say it does what I was told it does. He went out with a bang." 

"Wow. I can't imagine having to do that. I know I probably will have to with the world getting darker, but it's one to think about it, but to actually do it, I can't even imagine."

"Exactly how I felt after. I always wondered what it would be like, but after I did it, I had serious mixed feelings even though he was about to do the worst possible thing to the love of my life while I was being forced to watch."

Severus and Damon continued with their talk until both grew tired and went to bed. Little did they realize that they were overheard by one particular fourth year.

XXXXX

Sometime during the night...

Severus was asleep in his bed, completely unaware of the person that had just entered. It was about 5:30 in the morning, and the person knew if he woke Severus it would not end well for him, so he quietly snuck over to his bed, which was across the room from the entrance. He looked down and saw his trunk. He knew the Emerald Dagger was likely inside and If he brought this to his future Master he would be so proud. When he joined the Death Eaters he would be the Dark Lord's most trusted, even more so than his cousin Bellatrix. Severus was not aware that the person figured out how to hear through his Muffliato spell and overheard everything. The person reached for his trunk and was about to open it when a sudden very powerful bolt of electricity shot up his arm and gave him third degree burns on his right hand. It took everything inside of him not to scream and wake the whole dormitory. 

Severus' eyes opened at a sound only he could hear and a sound he knew would only happen if someone attempted to break into his warded trunk without his permission. Who would be foolish enough to attempt it and assume he wouldn't have the strongest wards guarding it? He couldn't afford not to, not with the Emerald Dagger being stored in there while he slept. That blade may be his only chance at stopping Voldemort if his magic proved to be insufficient and if a Death Eater in training stole it from him and took it to Voldemort, not only would the Angels be very angry that he let the only weapon that can kill them fall into the hands of the Dark, he would also have no surefire way of stopping Voldemort and everything would be a long shot. Long shots are not part of Severus' world. He doesn't do something unless it is absolute. He turned his attention to the person who was sitting on the floor clutching his severely burnt hand in pain. He put up a silencing ward with a hand movement to avoid waking everyone else. 

"Well, well, well, that might have burned down to the tissue. Who are you and just what were you attempting to achieve by breaking into my dorm and attempting to steal from me?" Severus asked, clearly very angry. 

The person did not answer so Severus spoke again. "Look, we can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way, one or the other." 

Still, no response. "Very well, then." Severus looked into his eyes and lit up his own by tapping into his magic. The person looked startled and Severus chose this moment. "Legilimens!" he spoke. He dove into the person's memories and saw that he overheard the conversation between him and Damon and that he was in fact attempting to steal the Emerald Dagger and bring it to Voldemort to ensure his place within the Death Eater ranks, but got burned by the lightning ward. He also learned of the person's identity. Regulus Black. Sirius' younger brother.

"So, Regulus. Let's chat shall we?"


	6. The Heat Is On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry this took so long. I wrote this and initially planned to post it last Thursday, but then I realized it didn't turn out quite the way I hoped, so I ended up scrapping and re-doing the entire thing. I am still not exactly liking how it came to be. It sounded good in my head, but doesn't look as good in writing. If you guys like it, I will keep it up, but if not then I will take it down, rewrite it yet again and then post it in a double update next Sunday. I will be attempting to stick to having an update every Sunday, but I am not making any promises.

"What the hell do you want to discuss, blood traitor?" Regulus hissed. 

"How about what you were doing in my dorm? I already know, but I want to hear it from you, in your words," Severus responded. 

"That precious weapon you are holding onto is my ticket into the Dark Lord's ranks. You are unworthy of such an ancient artifact. In his hands, the Dark Lord will rule the world and not even the Angels," he sneered that word, "can stop him." 

Severus went over to his trunk and disabled the ward with a wave of his hand. He reached in and pulled out a wooden case with a clear glass top, just big enough to fit the Emerald Dagger inside of it. He showed it to Regulus, smirking the entire way. 

"So, this is what you are after, I see. Beautiful isn't it? Too bad Avery was such a moron and attempted to use it to kill my girlfriend when I was right there thinking I wouldn't notice the ancient magic," Severus stated. 

Regulus made a desperate lunge for the case, but Severus had him on the floor again in less than a second. He put the dagger back in his trunk and re-applied the lightning ward. He knelt down next to Regulus and grabbed the collar of his shirt. 

"I think you are making a huge mistake in joining Voldemort in the first place. You should reconsider."

"I have already made my choice. I will honor my parents, unlike my blood traitor brother. Unlike you. You had an opportunity to be great, but you threw it away for some mudblood whore. Why would you do something stupid?" 

"Because he doesn't care!" Severus nearly shouted, his eyes flared once he heard the insult to his precious flower. "Voldemort does not care about you, about me or about anyone but himself. He will kill you in a heartbeat. Once he sees your flaws and begins to think you are unworthy, he will dispose of you and move on." 

"Yeah, right. He will only dispose of filth like that whore you're seeing," Regulus sneered. 

Severus ignored him as if he hadn't even heard him speak. "So, now, I am going to burn down everything his operation stands for once I am out of here until I catch up to the old boy." 

Regulus now looked wary. "And then what?" 

Severus smirked maliciously. "Even Voldemort can die. I will find out what is keeping him alive and I will dispose of it. Then I will dispose of him and everybody who follows him, that includes you if you decide to do so. Mulciber Sr. picked a bad time to fuck with me and now they will never see me coming. You might want to get to the Hospital Wing to see about that burn, but first I cannot have you blabbing about what you shouldn't be, after all." 

Severus entered Regulus' mind once more and removed all memories of the conversation Severus shared with Damon as well as the Emerald Dagger. He did, however, leave behind the memory of the threat he made against the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. He meant every word, he was done fucking around. After Mulciber's attack on Lily, that was the end of innocent Severus. He was going to burn down everything that Voldmort stood for, before killing the bastard himself. He ensured that Regulus would not talk by compelling him. It was rather difficult at first, since Regulus' shields were fairly strong, but after some concentration and some careful probing, he got the job done. He made sure he would remember what he said, though, loud and clear. Regulus left but still had a determined look on his face. That told Severus that he had not changed his mind. Oh, well. No big deal. If he wants to be stupid, let him. 

Severus woke up again two hours later after the Regulus incident. After going down to breakfast, he learned from Sirius during a rather ugly confrontation that the burns to Regulus' hand would likely take months to heal and there was a chance he could have permanent nerve damage. Nobody knew how he had burned himself so extensively, and Severus wasn't talking. Lily knew he had done something, but decided to wait until they were alone to talk about it. Remus was most likely still asleep as Mary was here, but he wasn't. Due to it being a weekend there were no classes, so there was nothing really going on today. After leaving the Great Hall, Lily confronted Severus as expected. 

"We need to talk," she said. She led Severus to an empty classroom. 

"What do we need to talk about, Lily? If this is about Regulus, then spare me the lecture. He shouldn't have been poking around where he doesn't belong," Severus said, sounding bored. 

"You really did it then? Sev, how could you!? The damage done to his hand could be permanent." 

"He was trying to steal the Emerald Dagger, Lily! He is conspiring to join Voldemort. What do you think would happen if he got ahold of the only weapon known to wizardkind that is capable of killing Angels along with who knows what else? He would be unstoppable. I cannot lose it under any circumstances because it may be the only way to kill him if I prove to be too weak to beat him with magic alone, which I suspect will end up being the case." 

"But that doesn't justify using a ward so powerful, that it potentially caused somebody permanent harm."

"Lily, come on, I know you aren't stupid. After what happened to you over the Summer, I thought you would have at least a little common sense to what they are. There is no redeeming the Death Eaters. I tried to talk Regulus out of it, but he already made his choice, he was adamant about it." 

"Regulus had nothing to do with what happened to me, Sev. They judge Muggleborns on sight, would it make us any better to do the same to them?" 

"Yes, it would. You know why? Because Muggleborns don't torture, rape and murder just because they feel like it. You read the articles just like I have. They have done horrendous things to innocent people for kicks. I respect Dumbledore, I truly do, but he is blind when it comes to this. These evil people cannot be saved. Tell me, Lily, what would you want to do to them if you saw one of them attempt to rape your sister or your mother or even one of your friends in front of you while laughing the whole time?" 

"I...I would probably kill them. Ashamed as I am to admit it." 

"Then you know exactly how I felt when that abomination attempted to do that to you. Nothing they do is even remotely human and they should not be treated as such. That is why I am going to burn everything down. Every single bit of it." 

"How are you going to do that, Sev? I want the world to be safe again, but people will not agree with your methods. Voldemort is powerful and he probably has a sizable army."

"By killing Voldemort of course. Once he's down, the others will flee and cower and they will either be rounded up or I will strike them down, whichever comes first. You may not like it, Lily, but I promised the Angels I would do whatever it takes to stop them and you had to make the same promise. What I am aiming to do is to stop you from getting blood on your hands. You may not agree with me and I understand. In other circumstances, I probably wouldn't agree with me either, but it has to be done. That is the only way we will have a future. If not because of the deal you made, it would be because we would constantly be running and hiding and I refuse to do that. I want to stand and fight." 

"I don't agree at all, Sev. I don't like to judge people based on what others do. You taught me that things aren't all just black and white. Even though many Death Eaters are evil, what if some can be saved? I do understand your views though, because of what almost happened to me. If I were in your shoes and had to watch a loved one go through that, I would want the same thing. I want to have a future with you. You know that of all people. I am just terrified that even if you do win, you won't make it out alive."

"If I don't make it out alive, I will make damn sure Voldemort goes down with me, you can count on that. Your life matters a great deal to me, and I will make sure that you get to keep living it, even if I am not there to live it with you."

"I don't want that to ever happen, Sev. I cannot see a world without you by my side anymore. What we have, I don't want with anyone else."

Severus said nothing more and just held her. Whatever happened, whatever the future held, he would make sure everyone he cares about is safe, not just Lily. If he does not make it, if worst-case happens, he wants to make sure that Remus and Mary can have their futures together and Lily can keep on living and hopefully find somebody that would love her just as he does, even if she swears that would and could never happen. No matter what happens, no matter what the outcome if this war is, he would make sure that Lily, Remus, Mary and everybody he cares about has a future. That is going to be his biggest vow and nothing will stop him from fulfilling it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you guys get worried that this is foreshadowing Severus' death, no it is not. I am not planning to kill him off, at least not in the main story. I will be writing an alternate what-if for the final Extras that details what would happen if Severus did die fighting Voldemort at the very end. Because let's be real, it will come down to Severus vs Voldemort at the very end, I think that has been established pretty well already.


	7. The Thoughts of Albus Dumbledore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome to another chapter. This time we get a look into the thoughts of Dumbledore himself about the changes in Severus' behavior as well as other events that have happened. I hope you enjoy. Also, chapter 6 was posted on January 20th, but for some reason my story was not moved up to the top with the recently updated stories, so my apologies if you missed it.

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his study thinking over the past few days. He had noticed a drastic change in the behavior of one Severus Snape. Unlike last year, he seemed to be much more aggressive and confident. He knows of what happened with the father of Derrick Mulciber, he is one of the leaders of the Ministry of Magic after all. He also heard about the incident with Regulus Black, just recently. Severus had warded his trunk with a lightning ward, a ward so powerful that it was up for debate whether it could be considered dark and dangerous and dangerous it was. Regulus was now up in the Hospital Wing with third degree burns to his hand and much of his forearm and may possibly never regain full use of his hand. He wondered what exactly it was that Severus wanted to protect so badly that he would use such a dangerous ward to do it. Then there was the deal over the summer with Severus laying in St. Mungos near death from damage to his magical core done by Eileen's binding. It was assured that he was not going to survive but then he miraculously recovered as if nothing had happened. Couple this with the strange behavior of Lily Evans as well, he concluded that she had something to do with it. Only one thing comes to mind and it is not good. One thing at a time, however. 

Back to the matter of what it was that Severus was guarding the night Regulus was injured. He knew Severus did not have anything sacred of his own personal effects that would warrant that much protection. That limits it to a few things. Either Severus knew Regulus would fall for a trap that had been set previously, or he had acquired something very sacred and very valuable, possibly from the Angels he had been communicating with. Dumbledore frowned at that part, sudden realization coming to his mind. Over the summer, it was said that Mulciber Sr. was killed with a magical dagger of unknown origin that ripped every bit of magic from his body. There was only one thing he knew of that was capable of doing such a thing and that is none other than the Emerald Dagger. How Severus got a hold of it, he had no idea as it was believed to have been lost since the 15th century, with its last known wielder vanishing without a trace. Dumbledore had been trying to track the blade down for decades, but never even came close to actually finding it. He wanted to discover its origin and discover exactly what its properties are. He decided to call upon Severus and ask to borrow the dagger for a short time just so he could study it and possibly even replicate it. He had a sense of its importance and should the original ever be lost, it would be a good idea to have a spare. Severus arrived minutes later. 

"I got your message, Sir. What did you need to see me about?" Severus asked, curiously. 

"My boy, I need to know of the exact details that happened over the summer. Trust me, it's important," Dumbledore said. 

"It's simple, really. Mulciber attacked me and Lily, I overpowered him and killed him." 

"He was killed by a magical dagger. The manner of which it was done, I know of only one thing that is capable of it." 

Severus finally understood what Dumbledore was alluding to. "You want the Emerald Dagger."

"I do. Not permanently, I would just like to study it for a time. If the original was ever lost, we would need another and I hope to replicate it. I have a sense of its importance in these dark days." 

Severus took the dagger out of his robes and spoke before handing it to Dumbledore. "Do I have your assurance that I will get it back when you are done?" 

"You do. I am a man of my word. I have no desire to keep this from you, I just wish to study it," with that, Severus handed the dagger off to Dumbledore, but before he could leave, Dumbledore spoke again. 

"I would also appreciate it, if you would not use a lightning ward anymore. While I admire your desire to keep a one of a kind relic safe at all costs, that ward caused severe damage to one of my students." 

Severus did not speak any more and walked out the door. The Emerald Dagger now laid in possession of the Headmaster. He only hoped that the old man kept to his word and gave it back to him when he was done. Meanwhile, Dumbledore had ran an initial scan of the dagger and when he saw the complexity of it, even he was surprised. The blade itself is enchanted with a very special spell that caused any damage dealt to never be able to be healed with magic. It was also enchanted with a modified version of the Killing Curse that instead of shutting down the major organs like the Killing Curse does, it actually rips the magic from the body of the victim, resulting in an explosion of green light. The more powerful the victim, the bigger the shockwave will be. The handle of the dagger and the emerald green rubies within it are also enchanted with negation spells, effectively rendering the wielder immune to many types of magic as long as they are holding it. Last but not least, the entire thing is enchanted with anti-summoning spells of all varieties as well as a spell that makes the weapon indestructible, meaning it cannot be summoned away from the wielder and it cannot be destroyed by any means. Dumbledore was rather impressed. The legends about it are true, there is nothing on this Earth that this weapon cannot kill, not even Angels are an exception to this and should it fall into the wrong hands it could be disastrous.

Despite the danger it poses, he would give it back to Severus, however, as he promised. There was no possible way he could replicate the weapon without the help of an Angel, so he would have to put that plan on hold for now. Even if he could figure out every spell that was applied and how to apply them, the complex nature of the weapon's structure alone is so complex and so difficult to understand that he can't begin to explain or even understand it. It had to be to be able to hold that much magic effectively, after all. That is why you can't apply these spells to any old dagger out there, this one was made in a very special way. Dumbledore took down notes of what he does know about it and hopefully he can find some way to get in contact with an Angel to finish the rest of it. Until then, however, there was no use to hold onto it and he would give it back to Severus once he wasn't too busy and it wouldn't be an inconvenience to either of their schedules. The next weekend that arrived, Dumbledore called Severus back and gave him back the dagger. 

"More difficult then you imagined it would be?" Severus asked. 

"Yes, indeed. I have never seen a single object with such a complex nature like this one. I do believe I could successfully replicate the weapon if I were to get in contact with an Angel," Dumbledore said. 

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"I don't exactly, but you share a connection with their commander, Amara. You could call upon her and say that I need her help." 

"I could, but even if I were to do so, there is no guarantees that she would actually help you recreate a weapon that could kill her and her kind, but I will try anyway."

Severus left shortly after that. He half wondered if Dumbledore was insane. Despite Amara's warm and gentle nature, he knew her patience had limits. He just hoped that Dumbledore did not piss her off if he manages to get her here. The old man did have tendency to ignore people's feelings on occasion whether it be directly or indirectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we got a Dumbledore and Severus talk and a deeper look into what the Emerald Dagger exactly is. Hope you enjoyed, stay tuned for another chapter next week. As for why Severus let Dumbledore borrow the dagger, it is because he trusts Dumbledore to give it back to him when he is done. Dumbledore is not manipulative in this story and he is a man of his word. When he says he is going to do something, he does it.


	8. The Night of Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome back to another chapter. As always, I hope you are enjoying this chapter. Without further delay, let's get to it.

Severus did as he promised and reached out to Amara. She said she would meet him in the Room of Requirement when she was next available, which turned out to be two full days from his initial summoning. 

"Alright, Severus, I am here. What is it you need?" Amara asked. 

"I need you to analyze something for me. Could you take a look at this dagger and tell me exactly how this was made?" Severus asked, handing her the Emerald Dagger. 

Amara took the dagger gently in her hands and went wide-eyed once she saw what it was. "My goodness...this is...I never thought I would ever lay eyes on it. This was one of Abraxas' finest creations. It's definitely the real deal." 

"If you don't mind me asking, who is Abraxas?" 

"He was one of the very first Angels. He was also the one who led the charge in the war against the Veela race. He quickly became the deadliest Angel to walk the face of the Earth, but he was killed when the Emerald Dagger was turned against him by one of his own followers. No one outside of our very own people knows who he was due to everything he had done." 

"There was a war between Angels and Veela, why? I never thought the two races had interacted with one another." 

"We don't anymore, Severus, but when Abraxas was around, it was dark times for the Veela. He viewed them as abominations, very much like Voldemort views muggleborn witches and wizards and conspired with a small group of his followers to exterminate them. They nearly succeeded too until another Angel decided that what he was doing was immoral and turned the Emerald Dagger against Abraxas, ending his reign of terror once and for all." 

"How long ago was this?" Severus asked, feeling indifferent to the entire situation.

"I am nearly 500 years old and this was before I was born if that tells you anything. Now, the Emerald Dagger, you wanted to know exactly what its properties are?"

"Yes. It's not for me, it is for Albus Dumbledore. He wishes to replicate it, should I ever lose the original blade in the fight against Voldemort."

Amara's face darkened at the mention of Dumbledore. "I do not know what he told you, but whatever his intentions are with this weapon are not what he has led you to believe. That man is not nearly as light as he claims to be." 

"What are you going on about now?" 

Amara sighed, preparing to say what she knew Severus would not want to hear. "You are aware about his famous duel against Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort's predecessor right? Well there is one thing that was not mentioned, several things actually. Albus Dumbledore once conspired with Grindelwald to find special objects that would grant him more power. He eventually abandoned him, but when their duel came, Albus did a terrible thing, indirectly of course, but that does not make him any less responsible." 

Severus remained silent, so Amara continued on with her story. "Albus had a sister named Ariana, and she was killed in the crossfire. Albus has taken the blame for it and rightfully so, as it was his curse that ended her life. He may play Leader of the Light, but that Emerald Dagger is just another thing for him to increase his power. He may not be a murderer, but he is powerhungry too and his pacifism will only get people killed." 

Severus was too stunned to even think and heard himself speaking before he even knew what he was saying. "That's not...I mean, Dumbledore powerhungry? If anything the guy is too soft for how he should be. I killed somebody last summer and he barely blinked. Since he is a Ministry leader, he should have said something, but didn't." 

"I believe he is simply manipulating you. If you want to believe otherwise, then you are free to do so, Severus. But at least take my warning. Don't trust him blindly. For this very reason I cannot replicate this for him, because I just don't trust him."

Severus nodded and Amara continued, changing the subject. "You want to know what the properties of the Emerald Dagger are? The structure is made rather simply, the blade and handle are made of a mixture of iron and silver. The emerald rubies within the handle are what give it some of its power. They contain the spells that make it so it cannot be summoned away and are also what grants the wielder immunity to certain types of magic. There is also a spell on the entire thing that makes it so it cannot be damaged in any way.

"My blade is not indestructible, it can still be destroyed, the Emerald Dagger cannot be. Now, what makes it so lethal is that it is not actually a Killing Curse alone that is spelled into it. The blade contains three types of magic. The first is a significantly weakened Killing Curse so that when the weapon is stabbed into a lethal area, it begins to fill the body with green light. The main purpose of this is to act as an indicator that it is most definitely a kill. The second spell is a magical negation spell that will undo any magic the victim has cast. The final spell is what actually finishes the job. It overloads the victim's magical core with a power surge, very similar to power surges in muggle homes. This will cause their core to explode and all magic will be ripped from their body and nothing can survive that. The stronger the magical core, the bigger the shockwave will be. It will never be lethal to the wielder of the weapon, but it could very well knock anyone in immediate proximity unconscious if powerful enough. As for non-lethal wounds the Killing Curse prevents them from being healed magically as there is no countercurse for it, so any injury from the Emerald Dagger could potentially be lethal if the victim can't find a sufficient way to stop the blood loss before the wound heals naturally." 

Severus took in this information. He knew that the weapon was powerful, but he did not know exactly how one single object could hold all that magic and not fall apart or even weaken. "I do have to ask one more thing about it," he began, "how does one single thing hold all that magic and stay intact?" He finished. 

"Well, you are correct in the assumption that simple objects cannot hold that much magic at once. However, Celestial weaponry is made with the blood of an Angel, which allows this to be possible and the Emerald Dagger is no exception to this. To highlight the major differences between the typical Celestial Dagger, like the one I carry and the Emerald Dagger: my blade can be destroyed, not easily, but it can be. Wounds caused by it can be healed magically as it lacks the Killing Curse as well as the magical negation spell. An immediately lethal wound caused by my blade will still be explosive as it still overloads the magical core of the victim, but that is it. It will be an explosion of plain white energy as opposed to the green light caused by the Emerald Dagger." 

"Okay, well, I do appreciate the information. I'll go to Dumbledore and explain to him that you can't replicate the dagger because of how old it is and that you simply cannot identify everything." 

"I appreciate that, Severus, please do heed my warning about Albus Dumbledore as well and whatever you do, do not lose the Emerald Dagger," and with that she handed it back to him vanished without a sound. 

XXXXX

Severus was once again up in Dumbledore's office. He had just finished explaining that he had spoke with Amara and that she cannot fulfill what he would be asking of her because of the age of the weapon and the fact that it was around so much longer than she had been. 

"I see. That is a shame, Severus. I guess we will have to find another way," and with little more words exchanged between them, Severus left. 

He returned to his dormitory and he put the Emerald Dagger back into the case he made for it within his trunk and then sealed it. He once again reapplied the lightning ward that kept it safe before. To hell with what Dumbledore said to him about it. He was going to do whatever it took to keep this blade safe and after everything he had been told by Amara, he was not sure Dumbledore himself could be trusted. He had lied to the man after all, Amara never said the Emerald Dagger would be impossible to recreate, just that she would not do it for Albus Dumbledore. He knew Dumbledore was not perfect, nobody was, but he had been utterly stunned when she mentioned that he accidentally killed his own sister. That part may have been an accident, but he did cause the chain of events that led to her death in the first place. 

Amara was definitely right. Dumbledore cannot be trusted. While he may be trying to make up for past sins, his pacifism will cost good people their lives. He could not give a damn if Death Eaters die, after all, they're all a bunch of twisted bastards that murder, rape and torture because they feel like it. How Dumbledore sees any of those people as redeemable he will never know and that only adds to his mistrust of him. It looks like it truly will be him, Lily, Remus and the Angels against the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter without Lily, I know, but don't worry she will be back in the next chapter and man will she be shocked when Severus tells her what he has learned. As for the Angels vs Veela war, there will be a chapter in the Extras for this installment that will go into it in full detail. There will also be one on the entire backstory of the Emerald Dagger and its long, bloody history. Whether I will combine these two or not, I am not sure yet as this installment is a long ways from finished. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all again next Sunday.


	9. A New Concern?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, I had a power outage earlier in the week that put me behind. Here is the new chapter though, I hope you enjoy.

Severus was still mulling over exactly how he was going to explain everything he had learned from Amara. The Emerald Dagger has the bloodiest history out of anything he has ever known. Although, he cannot be too surprised. It is the most powerful weapon to exist. Abraxas...he can't even begin to say anything about him. The Angel conspired with others to exterminate every single one of the Veela just because he felt like they were a stain upon the world, just like the way Voldemort views muggleborns. He also has a slight suspicion that Abraxas may not be as dead as one would think. Amara said he had been killed, but the look on her face suggested that there was more to the story...much more. He was brought out of his thoughts by the door opening and Remus and Lily entering. 

"What is it you wanted to tell us, Sev? You said it was urgent," Lily said. 

Severus started by pulling out the Emerald Dagger as if he were showing it to them. "Well since you know what this is, I'll start. I learned some ugly truths the other day. About this dagger and about Dumbledore." 

"What do you mean about Dumbledore?" Remus asked, curiously. 

"Dumbledore had initially conspired to help Grindelwald. Yes, you heard me right. The man famous for defeating the most feared dark wizard at that time was once working with him. Me and Amara had a chat about that," Severus responded. 

"Wait, what? I could never see that being Dumbledore. He is as good as anybody," Lily said in denial, but Remus did not look doubtful for a second. 

"Did you know that he killed his own sister during the famous duel, Lily?" Severus asked. 

Lily's jaw dropped. She was too stunned for words and Severus continued. "Yeah. Not on purpose, but that is hardly the point. Everything he had done before that duel, he may as well have done it on purpose. He also asked me to convince Amara to replicate the Emerald Dagger for him. I found this suspicious right off the bat, but, now I know why he asked. He is desperate and powerhungry. He does not like the fact that I have something he doesn't." 

Lily was still too shocked for words. Dumbledore, the hero to many people, had accidentally killed his own sister. How does one simply look past that? Then he asks in suspicious circumstance to have an ancient and powerful weapon remade for himself? Something more is going on here and she was finally beginning to understand why Severus is no longer trusting Dumbledore. 

Remus asked the next question. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell us?" 

"Yes, actually. Amara told me the history of the Emerald Dagger, well as much as she could anyway. It was created by an Angel named Abraxas. There was a massive war between the Angels and the Veela and he was the one who started it. He created the dagger as a weapon to use against them. It took thousands of lives at least," Severus answered. 

"Why would the Angels want to kill the Veela? The two races have never had anything to do with each other," Lily asked.

"Abraxas viewed them as abominations, very much like the Death Eaters view muggleborns. He and his followers began to destroy them, and nearly succeeded until supposedly one of his followers betrayed him and used his own weapon against him," Severus answered, but with hesitation. 

"Something tells me you don't believe that," Remus stated. 

"Yeah maybe. I am probably just being paranoid though. We already have Voldemort trying to kill us all, and hearing about an ultra powerful being trying to do the same thing to another race, it just got me on edge." 

Lily nodded, but Remus looked at Severus suspiciously. He knew that he was genuinely worried, but decided not to pursue it further. Eventually, Remus left because he had 'other things to do' which Severus found amusing because he knew that he just wanted to hang out with Mary. He can't blame him, though, because he and Lily had hardly spent any time together. She had curled into him, laying her head on his shoulder. 

"I love you, Sev," Lily said, softly. 

"I love you too, Lily. Always and forever,"

"Always and forever," she repeated lovingly. 

Later that night, Severus decided to write to Inias to ask him about the Abraxas matter. He knew he said he was just being paranoid, but he could not shake the awful feeling he was getting. He pulled out some parchment and began his letter. 

Inias,

My apologies for not writing to you more often. I have something to ask you, however, something I have a bad feeling about. Given that you study Angels and their history, I need to know everything that you know about the Angel known as Abraxas. Amara told me that he was supposedly killed, but she had a look on her face as she said that, I fear that may not be the case. I just cannot shake this awful feeling that he is still around. He is worse than Voldemort and I fear what will happen if he is.

-Severus

He got his reply back the next morning. Inias works fast, especially if it is urgent. Severus opened the letter and began to read:

Severus,

Finding information about Abraxas is not easy given that he is among the 'dishonored and forgotten' of the Angelic race. Very little is known about him, only that he was the worst kind of being imaginable. If you want more information, ask Amara. But, you are right to be alarmed. If he truly is still around, then Merlin help us all. He would make Voldemort look like an ant and that truly is a reason to be scared. 

\- Inias

After receiving this letter, Severus went on with his day. He spent a lovely afternoon with Lily down by the lake. She noticed he was tense.

"Are you okay?" she asked. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, Lily," Severus responded. 

She immediately looked up at him. "You know, Sev, I can always tell when something is bothering you." 

"I got a letter from Inias. I told him about my concerns involving Abraxas. He couldn't tell me much, but he told me that if my suspicions are true, then it is a reason to be afraid. He compared Abraxas and Voldemort and said that Voldemort would be an ant compared to him basically." 

"Sev, don't worry. I am sure he is gone. You have never doubted Amara before, why start now?" 

"I don't know, Lily, but I have long since learned to trust a feeling like this." 

"It'll be okay, Sev, you'll see," Lily said, and she kissed him softly. All thoughts about Abraxas were forgotten for now, and he just spent his afternoon chatting with the love of his life and holding her close. 

Later that night, he decided to call upon Amara. It took a while, but after a few minutes, she finally met him in the Room of Requirement just like last time. She immediately turned to address him as she always does. 

"I am here, Severus. Is there something you need?" 

"Yes. Last time we spoke, you mentioned an Angel named Abraxas. I need more information." 

Amara's eyes immediately hardened. Her voice was colder than he had ever heard it before. "You are to never speak his name in my presence again. I believe this conversation is over!" as she went to leave, Severus called out to her. 

"I am not going to try anything. I just need to confirm a suspicion. I know you are hiding something, Amara, I saw it in your eyes. Was he truly killed like you told me, or is he still around somewhere? If he is still alive out there, an entire race could be in danger. Are you really willing to risk all that just because you refuse to confirm or deny my suspicions?" 

Amara sighed, her eyes softening. "What I am about to tell you is something that must never leave this room, understood?" At Severus' nod, she continued. 

"Remember that I told you he was killed by one of his followers? Well that is mostly true. What I didn't mention, is that this follower of his was actually his lover. She eventually saw the error of her ways and destroyed him. She was the only one who could do it as she was the only one who would have been able to get anywhere near the dagger. His reign of terror ended, and the Veela no longer had to live in fear that Abraxas would come knocking and slaughter their children." 

"What his lover began doing, however, is she began searching for rituals that could save the essence of a destroyed Angel. She was hoping to harvest it, and then de-corrupt him. She loved him dearly and could not let him go, despite being the one who killed him. She was partially successful and did manage to find his essence, but she was killed once the others realized what she was doing." Amara paused, then continued. "Abraxas still exists in a sense, but he is unable to maintain a corporeal form anymore, and remains nothing more than smoke and vapor. His essence remains contained under heavy security, but if he were to get free he could regenerate himself and begin where he left off. So this is why it is important you tell no one, because if word got out and somebody freed him, it would be a nightmare for everybody." 

"She was hoping to de-corrupt someone who was not corrupted at all and did this out of his own free will? She essentially resurrected him too, how stupid can she be?" Severus said. 

"People do stupid things in the name of love, Severus. I would never willingly put an entire race in danger, that is why I lied to you. I did it to protect them as well as everybody else. So do not mention any of this to anybody," and with that she disappeared. Severus vowed not to mention it to anybody, but was left in his thoughts. 

Abraxas was in fact still alive, kind of. His suspicions were confirmed. At least he was contained, but how long could that last? The only thing he could do as of right now is hope that Amara was keeping him locked down as tight as she said she was.


	10. A Solution Is Finally Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys welcome to another weekly update, I hope you have been enjoying this story so far. I have definitely had fun writing it. It took me over a year to complete Year Five so I am definitely getting through this one much quicker. Anyways, let's get to it.

The months of October and most of November have gone by relatively quickly. Severus continued his training sessions with Mary McDonald and she has been improving significantly. He has even begun using low powered Celestial magic during their sessions and she seemed to have little trouble with it. She even put him on the defensive quite a few times, he was rather amazed at how fast she can fire off spells and still keep them pinpoint accurate as speed often comes at the cost of accuracy. Aside from that, however, probably the most important thing is what he has been doing for Remus. He has been attempting to brew a potion that will help make Remus' transformations more comfortable for him while he looks for a more permanent solution. Of course, the ingredients would be costly, hardly anything like that comes cheap after all and he had to go through a lot of trouble to obtain what he was going to attempt next. All attempts so far have been less than successful, but with each try he has come closer and closer to finally getting it right. It made him feel very excited that he was about to reach a major breakthrough. He met Lily the next day and she was rather amused with his attitude. 

"What's got you so excited, Sev?" Lily asked. 

Severus led her away from everyone else and ensured that he wouldn't be overheard. "I think I have finally found the solution to help Remus. Not a cure, but something that will make things much less painful for him," he explained. 

"Oh, Sev, that is wonderful! He is going to be so excited. When will you know for sure?" 

"A few more days at most. All attempts so far have been unsuccessful, but the most recent one was as close as I have ever gotten." 

"Well, you keep working, Sev. What you are doing will help a lot of people in the future." 

Severus had not yet told Remus how close he was, he didn't want to say anything until he had actually gotten it right. He was back down in the potions lab attempting to brew it once more. Slughorn had not actually known what he was doing, he just explained that he wanted to try out something that could potentially help a lot of people. He was more than happy to allow Severus to keep doing his trial runs. He got everything set up and mumbled to himself as he worked. 

"Okay, so, Wolfsbane is definitely needed. Last time I added powdered moonstone and powdered silver and everything was good up until I added Valerian roots along with the Dittany, So what went wrong?" 

After several seconds, he decided to try adding Dittany before Valerian roots and it definitely had a differing effect. Unlike last time, where it just smoked and burned, this one began to emit a light blue vapor after the last two ingredients were added into it. He ran his hand over it and did a quick scan of it with his magic. He smiled as he realized that it would finally have the effect he wanted it to have and that all of his hard work would finally pay off. 

"There you are. Hello Wolfsbane Solution," he said to himself. 

As the full moon was just over a week away, Severus put the completed potion into separate bottles and quickly wrote down his work into his journal. He took the bottles of the solution with him after he had cleaned and put up the cauldron. The very next day, Severus told Remus to meet him in the unused classroom they usually go to. Remus entered shortly after Severus. 

"Remus, you are not going to believe what I have to tell you," Severus said and he pulled out one of the bottles containing the solution. Remus took it and looked it curiously. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

"That, my friend, is what I have been working on and why I have been acting so cagey these past few months. It is a solution to your...issues," Severus explained. 

"Really?" Remus perked up immediately. 

"Not a cure, no, but it will ease your transformations significantly. It will make them far less painful and you won't be feral anymore." 

"Thank you so much, Sev, you have no idea what this means to me. But, how did you do it? People have tried to accomplish something like this for a long time and have been unsuccessful." 

"It wasn't without serious trial and error. There were quite a few misfires, but I have finally cracked the code. The ingredients I used in that are not cheap either so that definitely didn't help matters. This also means that I, unfortunately, won't be able to do this regularly. You need to drink that once a day for seven days before the full moon and since the next full moon is exactly one week from now, I recommend drinking that right now. Miss one and it is worthless. It didn't smell the greatest when I was brewing it, so I imagine it will taste just as bad." 

Remus took the stopper out of the bottle and downed the entire thing, wincing as he did so. After he finished, he gagged. "That is the foulest thing I have ever tasted!" 

"I know, Remus, but unfortunately, I cannot add anything to it to make it taste better or it will ruin it." 

"You really think this will work?" 

"I know it will, Remus. When the full moon comes, you will notice a major change." 

The week passed by and Remus had drank the potion every day as required. He had to admit that he was nervous about just what would happen. He went down to the Shrieking Shack as he always did and awaited the inevitable. Soon the moon rose and Remus felt the changes happening...but it felt very different. He could feel and see his body changing, but it wasn't agonizing like it usually is, it was now reduced to a dull ache. Once the changes finished, Remus was shocked that he had not blacked out. Normally he would have long ago. He looked around the old house and while his senses were sharper, he felt as if he were himself, but in a different body. It actually worked. He still has no idea how Severus managed to do it, but he would forever be grateful that he had actually gone through the trouble. Two years ago, he never would have bothered and most likely would have enjoyed letting him suffer, but he had changed significantly over these past few years. Where Severus once despised werewolves, he now feels sympathy for them and desires to help them in any way he can. After all, most are not savage monsters, they were forced into a situation they cannot help and it is utterly disgusting how the Ministry treats them. Before long, Remus felt himself grow tired and he curled up into a ball and fell asleep. He did not awaken again until morning and he was back to normal. He had slept through the entire thing. 

Severus immediately told Remus to meet him, eager to see how well it worked. 

"So, how was it? Did it work?" Severus asked. 

"It was incredible. I was actually myself, but in a different body almost. I slept through the entire thing and the initial transformation was not nearly as painful," Remus answered.

"I am glad it worked. Now, like I said, these ingredients are very expensive, so I cannot get them regularly. I still have enough to brew it three more times, but that's it until I can get some more and that won't be easy. I also would not recommend trying it yourself unless you actually know what you are doing, because the main ingredient Wolfsbane is highly poisonous and it would be disastrous if you got it wrong." 

"I know what Wolfsbane is, Sev. I know I am not nearly good enough to make this potion myself even if I knew what you did to make it, but still I thank you. While it may not be a cure, the times I am able to take it will make my life a lot less stressful." 

"You are welcome, Remus. I always want to help you in any way that I can." 

Severus and Remus had informed Lily of the success of Severus' work. Although, not all of it was his idea as he would not have considered it had he not read about something similar being a work in progress, he was the first one to do it successfully. For once this year the three of them were able to forget about Voldemort, the Death Eaters and all of that and just enjoy their time together. A success this big was definitely a cause for celebration.  
/?  
Meanwhile, Dumbledore sat in his office and continued to wonder just why Severus all of a sudden stopped trusting him. If he thought about it, it wasn't just mistrust Severus looked at him with, it was flat-out disgust. Whatever Amara had said to him, he clearly chose to believe. Little did Dumbledore realize, however, that Amara had, in fact, told Severus his deepest, darkest secret that would devastate him if anybody had found out and that a major confrontation where Severus would finally vent his disgust on learning said secret...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...yeah. I have to manually change the dates on these chapters to match when I am actually posting them, because for some reason, even though it says February 17th, it won't move it to the top of the recently updated page if I don't put that in manually and many of you will likely not even realize I have posted a new chapter like last time this happened. It is rather irritating and I am guessing it is a bug with the website that I hope gets rectified soon. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll see you all again next week.


	11. An Inevitable Explosion and a Cryptic Message

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally, this would be released Sunday afternoon, but I am releasing it a bit early because a bad storm is supposed to come through my area and it is expected that everybody in the area affected will lose power and once that happens I will have no way to post this chapter and I don't want to keep you waiting for too long as I have no idea when I will get power back if it goes out. So, I hope you enjoy, I will respond to any comments as soon as I can.

Severus' excited mood from finally being able to help Remus did not last long. He has just received a message from Dumbledore asking to see him. That was enough to set him off immediately. The nerve of that old man! He can already predict what the Headmaster wants and no way in hell is he going to give it to him. As a matter of fact, it is about time that he actually tears the old man a new one. If he gets expelled for it, oh well. At least he won't have to attend school run by a man who killed his own sister. As he began walking to the Headmaster's office, he decided he would play it cool for a bit until he learned what he wanted, then he would let him have it. 

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Severus said, walking into the office. 

"Ah, yes. I wanted to ask you if it was possible to contact Amara again. I may need her assistance in the future and I wanted to see if we can become acquainted with one another," Dumbledore said.

'Oh, she knows plenty about you alright Headmaster,' Severus thought before saying, "Yes, it's possible. But I am not going to do it, not for you." 

Dumbledore noticed the slight hostility in Severus' voice, but asked anyway, "why is that, may I ask?" 

"Because she doesn't like you. She doesn't trust you. Frankly neither do I after what she told me about you," 

"What did she tell you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Everything. I know about your past with Gellert Grindelwald, I know about Ariana, and I know about how you killed her. I also know you have serious power and control issues. Amara didn't say she can't replicate the Emerald Dagger, just that she wouldn't for you. Frankly, Dumbledore, you disgust me." 

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Dumbledore commanded, raising his voice. Severus had never heard him do so before and was quite surprised. "You will never speak of Ariana again, understood?" 

"And what if I do, Headmaster?" Severus sneered. "Are you going to expel me? That's fine. I'll learn everything I need from Amara. Are you going to wipe my memory? Bad idea. Amara knows about your past and so do Lily and Remus. If you do anything to them, or to me, Amara will be happy to share what she knows with the public especially since me and Lily are technically hers to command until Voldemort is defeated. Are you going to attack an Angel? Have you stooped low enough to try? Not that you would get anywhere with it, since she would crush you like a bug." 

"If you keep pressing, Severus, you will be expelled. If you are, then your future will be ruined. Do not test me." 

"I should be the one saying that to you, Headmaster. You expel me, sure I'll have a tough time finding a job, but I'll still make it work. I share what I know? What do you think would happen to you then, so called Leader of the Light? You'll lose the trust of everybody you know. You will be the one ruined, not me. So go ahead, expel me and we'll see who receives more damage." 

Dumbledore realized Severus was right. He sat back down, defeated. Severus was not done, however. "You want me to trust you again? You are going to have to prove you can be trusted."

Just as Severus began walking away, he heard Dumbledore speak. "It wasn't that simple you know." 

Severus turned back. "What wasn't that simple?"

"Gellert Grindelwald. I hadn't known what he was actually planning at first. Once I found out, I walked away as you know. My sister's death was a result of her trying to break up the fight. Ever since then, I have tried to do good, to atone for my mistakes. I understand that I am misguided and that others may be wary of my methods. I am doing everything I can to stop Voldemort before he causes too much damage but it is not that easy. He has numerous supporters, some of which are in this very school right now. We don't know which ones are there of their own free will and which ones are being coerced. What happened in the past is a mistake I do not ever wish to repeat. I am sorry it came to this, Severus, and I hope one day we can trust each other again." 

Severus walked away after that. He had never heard Dumbledore sound so defeated before, but he was not going to let that get to him. The old man still needed to prove that he is trustworthy before he could ever consider trusting him again. However, he knew that Voldemort was getting bolder in his attacks. Deaths and disappearances are becoming more and more common. He decided to call upon Amara to ask for her advice and to see if there is anything at all he can do. 

"What is it you need, Severus?" The very familiar voice asked. 

"Voldemort, how do I stop him?" Severus asked, getting straight to the point. 

"You can't yet, Severus. We have already tried. He is using some kind of Dark ritual to keep himself tethered to life. We need to find out what it is and break it before we can kill him. He has gone to great lengths to cover up his methods. I admit how surprised I am at his ability to do so." 

"There has to be something. I cannot sit here and watch as good people are tortured and killed and who knows what else." 

"You are going to have to do just that I am afraid. It isn't your time yet, Severus. If you go after him now, you are going to get yourself killed. You and Lily are this world's only hope. If even one of you dies before he is stopped, then this world will be plunged into darkness." 

"Wait, me and Lily?"

"Yes, you and Lily. The two of you together will stop Voldemort. Your power and intelligence together will be more than he can handle. However, you two won't have to do it alone." 

"The support of Dumbledore and everyone who follows him?" 

"Yes, they will be of assistance. But they are not what I was getting at."

"Amara, will you please just get to it already?" 

Amara smiled. "She will be conceived under the winter solstice of 1978 and enter this world on the fall equinox of 1979. She will ignite a power Voldemort knows not within the two sacred fighters and together the three of them shall smite down the evil and restore peace one more." 

"That's not cryptic at all. Mind telling me what the hell that means?" 

"It will become clear in time, Severus. I assure you that you will destroy Voldemort, it is just not yet your time to do so. Finish your education first and then you and I shall discuss your path forward," with that she vanished. 

'The winter solstice and fall equinox. 1978 and 1979, those are years from now. What the hell does this message even mean? Amara is usually not this cryptic,' Severus thought to himself as he mulled it over. 

The next morning, Severus met up with Lily. Remus had other things to do, so it would just be the two of them. She asked him what was wrong and he began telling her everything. 

"So you and Dumbledore had a heated discussion and then asked Amara on how to stop the war from happening, but she didn't tell you how to do so?" Lily asked. 

"No, just that he is somehow tethering himself to life and can't be stopped at this moment. She did leave a cryptic message before she left and I have no idea what it means." 

"Well what did she say?" 

"She will be conceived under the winter solstice of 1978 and enter this world on the fall equinox of 1979. She will ignite a power Voldemort knows not within the two sacred fighters and together the three of them shall smite down the evil and restore peace one more," Severus recited. "I have no idea what it means especially since the solstice and equinox she stated are years from now." 

"That sounds awfully specific. Sev, what if it's a prophecy?" 

"Come on, Lily, you know I don't believe in that stuff." 

"Angels are probably the most reliable sources out there. She wouldn't tell you something that specific otherwise. Yes, she may have been a little cryptic on what it actually means, but it is clear that there IS meaning behind it." 

"But what is the meaning, Lily? A child conceived and born on those dates is the only thing from that I could actually understand. What is the significance to Voldemort? What is this power he knows not? The entire thing makes absolutely no sense." 

"Maybe not now, but it most likely will in time. She put enough emphasis on it to make it sound pretty important. Don't discredit it just yet. Try to find out what it means first and then we can decide whether it is something of actual import or not."

"Yeah, alright. I'll put it out of my mind for now, I'll focus on it some other time." 

Although, Severus was completely oblivious as to its meaning, Lily did have a sneaking suspicion as to what it meant. However, until she had all the facts and proof, there was nothing she could say or do about it, so she kept it to herself for now. She would, however, keep looking into the significance of the two dates and see whether or not she could at least partially confirm her suspicions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down. I will continue to post weekly as much as I can, but my computer is on the fritz and I am in serious need of a replacement as I have a feeling it is going to die pretty soon. If it does, I will be putting this fanfic on temporary hold until I can buy a new one as I have no other way to post new chapters. Don't freak out, I will not be abandoning this, but worst case scenario it goes on hold and I pick up right where I left off once I have a new computer. I just wanted to let you guys know what is going on, should anything happen.


	12. Abraxas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the lack of a chapter last week. I had to write a major essay for one of my classes so I wanted a break from writing. That and my computer is screwed up so it is getting more difficult to crank these out. This time, however, we get a look at the menacing Angel himself! I hope you enjoy.

Ever since Amara told Severus of this so-called "prophecy" he tried to decipher what it might mean, but had to put it off his mind for now as it was beginning to distract him from his schoolwork. There was also another thing, he was getting this weird feeling that he cannot quite identify. It feels almost as if someone is trying to enter his mind, but it didn't feel like legilimency. He wondered if he should ask Amara, but decided against it. He feels like he's already bothered her enough these past few months and with Christmas being little more than two weeks away, he wanted to focus on something else. It didn't seem to be a big issue just yet anyway. 

"What's wrong, Sev?" Lily asked, noticing his spaced out state. 

"Nothing. Just thinking about some things," Severus answered. 

"Well if you're sure, Sev. You did space out a bit back there," Remus interjected. 

"I am sure, Remus. It is nothing big. By the way, where is Mary? Shouldn't you be hanging out with her?" 

"She's...elsewhere." 

Lily noticed this immediately. "Remus, what happened?" 

Remus sighed. "I don't really know. She has seemed so distant lately. Things were going great and then just out of nowhere she started acting...odd." 

"I suggest you talk to her. Me and Lily learned from experience. The sooner you get it overwith, the sooner things can get back to normal. Isn't that right, my flower?" 

Lily playfully shoved him and then snuggled into his side. "He is right, Remus. Talk to her." 

Remus nodded and then got up. Lily looked up to Severus. "You want to tell me what's really going on now?" 

"I can't explain it, Lily. I have a feeling of someone trying to invade my mind, but it doesn't feel like legilimency. I wanted to ask Amara, but she is busy and I have bothered her enough." 

"Did you look into the prophecy any more?" 

"No, I decided to put it out of my mind for a while. It was becoming too distracting and I don't want my performance to suffer."

"I can understand that. I imagine we'll figure it out when we are meant to." 

The two of them spent the remainder of their day snuggled up to one another. They made small talk here and there, but mostly, they just enjoyed one another's presence. Eventually, it was time for the two of them to go back to their respective common rooms. Little did Severus know, however, that when he fell asleep, he would receive the biggest shock of his life. 

Severus awakened in a strange place. It was similar to his first meeting with Amara, but, it had none of the warmth that place had. It was almost as if all warmth was sucked from the air and coldness was all that remained. He heard a clap of thunder behind him and turned around. He saw the unmistakable form of an Angel, but he, unlike Amara gave off no warmth whatsoever. He had streaks of lightning coursing down his body and his eyes gave off a bright golden glow even after he retracted his wings and aura. He had the most menacing look Severus had ever seen, possibly the only one that could give Tobias Snape a run for his money. 

"Who are you?" Severus asked, warily. 

The Angel smirked. "You should know me or at least know of me. After all, you carry my very own creation. The one that was used against me." 

Severus' eyes widened in realization. "Abraxas?" 

Abraxas' eyes glowed slightly brighter in acknowledgement. "But...you're contained. Amara said so herself." 

"Amara. Right. Well, what she isn't aware of is that I am currently in the forced company of one Tom Riddle." 

"How are you here then? And who the hell is Tom Riddle?" 

"I am here because of my only ability I still have access to. Astral Projection. My true form you just saw is normally so bright it could burn out your eyes. But, thanks to my pathetic companion, I am rendered in a weakened state and Tom Riddle captured me and was able to restrain my powers and use my essence to fuel his own. Good thing the others killed her, she'd be the first on my list once I am free." 

"You still haven't answered who Tom Riddle is." 

"He's the one known as Voldemort of course. It is really just an anagram of his true name. I am Lord Voldemort comes from his full name, Tom Marvolo Riddle. He isn't even a pureblood. Hypocrite to his own cause. I am guessing Amara didn't share that bit with you. I saw into his mind before he warded my cage. However, little does he know that it is weakening as my magic slowly replenishes itself." 

She didn't Severus realized. He knows he can't trust Abraxas, but he was still annoyed that Amara would keep this from him. Abraxas continued. "Make no mistake. I will be free soon. When I am, Tom and his followers will pay. Then I will finish what I started and exterminate those little Veela whores one by one. What a shock it will be once they realize that I am alive again," he finished almost dreamily.

"I am all for killing Voldemort or Tom or whatever. But you will not kill any more of the Veela race. You have done enough damage to them already." 

"I like your fiery attitude, Sev. So I will make you a one time offer to join me and have all the freedom you can ask for so long as you do what I demand. What do you say?" 

"You want my answer? Fuck you." Abraxas was visibly angry. "You are vile Abraxas. You are an Angel, a creature of the Light. How could you do this? The Veela did nothing to you. You tortured their children in front of them, made their parents listen to their cries for mercy and then slaughtered them in full view. I will never join you. As you know, I have the Emerald Dagger. It destroyed you once, it will destroy you again, this time by my hands." 

Abraxas looked at Severus with a menacing snarl of disgust. "If that is your answer, so be it. You have the Emerald Dagger for now, but I will be reclaiming that. Also, I heard the prophecy now in place about you and that pretty red headed girl. Want to know what it means?" 

"Enlighten me." 

"You and Lily will have a daughter conceived and born on those two dates. However, I am going to enjoy taking her from you. Then I'll take Lily, your surrogate parents, Inias, Remus and then once I have decided you suffered enough, I will take you. I will show you everything I did to those Veela I happily slaughtered. You should have said yes, Severus. It's too late now. If I were you, I would spend as much time as possible with those you love, because once I am free you can kiss them goodbye. My warding has fallen to half strength so I reckon you have...six months at most. Oh and don't think you can circumvent the prophecy. All roads lead to the same place," and with that Severus awoke with a jolt. 

Severus immediately left the common room, heading straight for his favorite seventh floor room. He sat down trying to calm himself before deciding to call out to Amara. 

"Amara, are you there? I need you immediately," he said desperately several times before she finally appeared. 

"Severus what's going on? Why do you sound so distressed?" Amara asked, clearly concerned. 

Severus took out the Emerald Dagger and handed it to Amara, handle first. She looked down at it, confused. "Take that and hide it far away. You cannot let Abraxas get ahold of it."

"Abraxas? Sev he's contained. How would he get ahold of it?" 

"No he's not! He visited me in my mind similar to how you did. Voldemort somehow sprung him and now has him captive, but the warding he used to do so is beginning to fail rapidly. He said it's at half strength now and he will be free inside of six months. Once he is...he's going to kill everybody I care about. My future daughter, Lily, her parents, Remus, Inias, you, everyone." 

Amara was glad he figured out her meaning behind the prophecy, but now was not a good time to mention that. Her friend needed her comfort. "Sev, I assure you, even if Abraxas truly is free, he will not get to me. He may be stronger than I am in raw power, but I have something he didn't...support. The other Angels, they love me and many of the younger ones look up to me as a mother figure. Abraxas only had a small amount of support and those Angels that survived have seen the error of their ways and promised to never aid him again. They would all lay down their lives to protect me if need be. As for Lily and the others, I will take measures to ensure they are safe." 

"What about the Emerald Dagger?" 

"I can take it and hide it somewhere with warding keyed to my bloodline so only I or a direct bloodline of mine can access it, but since I have no offspring, only I will be able to gain access to it. But are you sure you want to be rid of it? It is rightfully yours after all."

"Until we find out a way to deal with Abraxas, yes. If he gets ahold of that weapon, he'll be unstoppable. We can't take that risk." 

"I understand, Sev. We will find out a way to deal with both problems." 

"Amara, can I ask you exactly how much damage Abraxas did to the Veela race? He swore he would be coming for them again." 

"It was bad, Sev. As I said, I was not around then, but my mother was. He had driven the race so close to extinction that we weren't sure they would survive. Luckily, they did and today they are thriving as good as ever." 

Severus looked down and sat on the floor. He still could not believe that Abraxas, an Angel, could have done such horrific things to a race that did nothing to him. The two races had no issues with one another until suddenly Abraxas decided it was a good time to launch vicious attacks one after another. 

"How could he do it?" Severus asked. 

"He was born with no conscience. In his twisted mind he saw them as abominations that must be destroyed."

"How am I to stop him and Voldemort both?"

"You won't have to, Sev. Abraxas is an Angel problem and we will deal with it."

Severus hugged Amara and, while she was confused at first, she returned the gesture. She left Severus to his thoughts realizing he needed to be left alone for a little while. 

XXXXX

The next morning, Lily found Severus in the same spot. He had fallen asleep where Amara left him and woke up when Lily came into the room. He immediately explained to her what had happened and to say that she was mortified was an understatement. 

"He said he would kill all of us?" she asked.

"Exactly. Save me for last. All because I refused to join his quest in destroying an innocent race that did nothing to him," Severus answered. 

"We will get through it together, Sev. Amara is a good friend to you as you said. She will do everything she can to make sure we are safe and I believe her." 

"What would I ever do without you, Lily?" 

"I don't know, but I hope you don't ever find out." 

XXXXX

Meanwhile, Amara was at her own little place. She had confirmed what Severus said. Abraxas was out there and getting stronger, but nothing could be done because of the powerful warding around his containment under Voldemort. Unfortunately, when the warding breaks it will mean that Abraxas is at full power or close enough to it. She vowed that she would not place this problem on Severus. She locked the Emerald Dagger up under wards tied to her blood as she promised. She still couldn't believe Severus would trust her enough to do this especially since it was rightfully his. The thought of Severus did bring a smile to her face however. It was hard to ignore that warm feeling that spread throughout her body when he hugged her. Was she perhaps developing feelings for him? 

'No, stop that thought Amara. He is with Lily Evans' she thought furiously to herself. 

She would never make Severus choose between the two of them. She isn't Abraxas after all. She actually has a heart and cares about the feelings of others and can clearly see how much Severus loves Lily. She would never get involved in that. She would continue to help him as his friend and if that was all he would ever be, that was okay with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clear the air: no, Severus will not be with Amara in this story. He only considers her a friend and it will stay that way at least in this story. There is an extension in the works where they do eventually end up together that will take place after part 4. How it happens, I will not specify at this time partly for spoilers and because I don't have much planned out at this time, I just started thinking of the idea.


	13. Moving Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for no update since I don't even remember when. I wrote this chapter once and I was not happy with how it turned out and then I became stuck on where to go next. I think I have it nailed down for the most part, though. Also, this story overall will be shorter than the first one because I don't want these to drag on forever, I want to get to the good stuff. Don't worry, I am not ending it here, there will be at least 20 chapters.

Moving forward was much more simple than anyone could have thought. Over the last two weeks or so, Severus paid Abraxas or Voldemort little to no mind as he continued on with his business. He honestly could not wait to be able to go home for Christmas. A certain group of unfavorable Slytherins was beginning to drive him insane, especially Regulus Black. He was determined to get revenge for what had been done to him. Not that any permanent damage had actually been done anyway aside from the burn scars. He seems to be able to use his hand and even cast spells perfectly fine. He was also so terrified of Severus to actually act directly. Severus does not want to be feared, but if it keeps those idiots off his back then he'll take it. He was so lost in thought that he didn't see the little black haired first year girl before he ran into her. The impact knocked her to the ground, causing her to drop the contents of her bag and shattering her ink bottle. 

"I am terribly sorry. I should have been watching where I was going," Severus said, apologetically. 

"It's okay," she said. 

"Here, take it. I have a spare and I broke yours so it's only fitting that I replace it," he said as he handed her an unopened bottle of ink from his own bag. 

No more words were exchanged between them as she continued walking down the corridor. However, he heard her scream and then heard laughter. He quickly turned around to find three sixth years attacking the girl and laughing at her. 

"Hey, morons!" he shouted. All three of them quickly turned to look at him. One of them sent a cutting curse which impacted with Severus' side. He felt a sharp sting as blood began to trickle down, but this was of no concern as he knew the wound would heal very quickly. He was, however, irritated that he had ruined the jacket Violet had given him last Christmas. 

"You really don't want to do this guys. Leave that girl alone and move along while I am still allowing you to." 

They laughed and tried to cast another spell. However, Severus whipped his wand out and disarmed them so quickly that they barely even knew what hit them. He threw their wands to the opposite end of the corridor and then again demanded that they leave the girl alone. "Also, don't try to curse me in the back. If you force me to go on the offensive, it won't end too well for you," he finished as they retreated. 

"Are you hurt?" he asked gently as he knelt down to the girl. 

"No," she said, crying. 

Severus knew she looked familiar, and it took a second for it to register where he had seen her before. "You're Damon's sister, aren't you?" She nodded in response to the question.

"I am sorry those older students attacked you. They had no right to do that." 

"They are mad that my brother refused to join their cause, so they took it out on me," she said. 

"That is typical of them. They did the same to Lily after I refused them as well. It didn't work out too well for them."

"I've met Lily. She's so nice. I don't understand why people would want to bully or hurt her." 

"You'll understand in time. I am sorry, though, what is your name? I know Damon told me, but I forgot." 

"Verlaine." 

"Well, Verlaine, you are going to want to avoid many of the older Slytherins. The cause they are fighting for is a very bad one and some of them will not hesitate to hurt you if possible. I have managed to keep the younger Slytherins away from them, but, the older ones are beyond all hope I am afraid." 

Verlaine nodded in agreement before taking off. Severus was just glad that he could prevent something horrid happening to the sister of one of his friends. He knows many of the older Slytherins wouldn't dare mess with him, even the absolute Elitists, but the younger ones who have little chance of defending themselves could be in serious danger. He headed back to his dormitory in order to change his clothes since his current ones had blood on them and it wouldn't do to walk around the castle looking like that. After fishing out a white shirt and tossing his jacket into his trunk, he walked out and headed toward the Great Hall. 

After arriving at the Great Hall, Severus sat down, reluctantly, at the Slytherin table. The three Slytherins from earlier were sending death glares his way. Damon sat down next to him. 

"Thank you for saving my sister from those bastards. Who knows what they were planning to do to her. Spineless cowards can't come after me so they have to attack my innocent sister instead," he finished, sending glares at the three Slytherins, promising that they would pay next time they met. 

"You definitely got the 'spineless cowards' part right. That is all they are and probably all they will ever be."

"So what is the deal with the you know what? Why did you get rid of it?" 

"I didn't get rid of it exactly. It is in the care of a trusted friend. I will go into details after the holidays. Right now there are too many ears." 

Damon nodded in understanding before turning to his meal. Severus looked up and noticed that Lily had gotten a letter. She then quickly ran out of the Great Hall and Severus got up to follow her, seeing that she was very upset about something. He nodded to Remus and Damon who both got up and followed as well. Severus found Lily in a nearby corridor and she was crying. 

"Lily what's wrong?" Severus asked, embracing her. 

"Sev..." she barely managed through her heartbreaking sobs. Damon and Remus looked extremely worried. It was very rare to see Lily this upset. Whatever happened was not good. 

"Vernon attacked my sister when he learned that she was with someone else. She is in the hospital. He...he raped her, Sev." Remus and Damon's jaws dropped. Severus felt nothing at first, but then, out of nowhere, white hot rage filled him. He felt his magic flare intensely and all of them felt it as well as they all took a noticeably big step back, except for Lily. Severus fought hard to reign it in, knowing he was dangerously close to losing control, a very rare occasion for him. 

"For his own safety, I sure as hell hope the Muggle authorities have found him. If I find him first then I am going to fucking kill him," Severus ranted. 

"They have, Sev. He is going to be brought to justice. Please calm down and get control my love," Lily said. 

Hearing Lily's soothing voice was enough to calm him down. Despite her heartbroken state and the fact that her tears were still falling, she could still do that and it was one of the things he loved most about her. 

Damon was the next one to speak up. "I am...very sorry to hear this has happened, Lily." 

Remus was just as angry as Severus was. He had no words at all whatsoever. Remus was absolutely against killing people, but he had to agree with Severus on this one. People like Vernon Dursley do not deserve to live at all whatsoever. Poor Petunia Evans will have to live with what that bastard has done to her for the rest of her life, all because he couldn't accept that she had broken up with him. The fact that this happened just before the holidays too only made things that much worse. 

The next day arrived and it marked the start of the holidays. As everyone who was going home boarded the Hogwarts Express, Severus' mind was brought back to what he had learned yesterday. He had been looking forward to the holidays before, but now, he wasn't so sure. This year was not going to be nearly as happy as last year was, given what has happened. He and Petunia may have hated each other for a long time and are still a long way from being friends, he would not wish this upon her, or anybody for that matter. He felt Lily sit down next to her and she slid her hand into his as the train began to depart. Severus braced himself for what was surely going to be a very stressful and depressing couple of weeks and he had no idea how to make it better, if he even can do so.


	14. Recovery is a Long and Tough Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome to the actual chapter. Sorry for making you think there was an update yesterday, but I wanted to let you guys know what was going on and what I was going to be doing with this story in light of the passing of A17. Now that you know, let's get on with it shall we?

Before Severus got home, he knew things were going to be bad and he was right. Violet and John were devastated at what happened to their eldest daughter and Severus was also angry, but, for Lily's sake, he decided to let justice work on its own. She was right, he would face retribution on his own. He decided to try to stay clear of everyone and let them deal with it in their own way. Before long though, Lily came in and sat down next to him. 

"We are going to the hospital to visit her. Do you want to come with us?" Lily asked. 

"I don't think that would be a good idea. I am probably the last person she wants to see," Severus responded. 

"I think she would appreciate your company more than you would expect."

After a few more minutes of convincing, Lily managed to get him to agree to come along. The atmosphere was so tense, you could cut it with a knife. After what seemed like forever, they finally arrived. Petunia was in bad shape. Her left eye was badly bruised and she had multiple fractures in her right leg as well as several broken ribs. Severus has seen some pretty brutal injuries, especially being forced to hang out with violent Slytherins, but this probably makes the top five even without the rape factor. This is the kind of thing he would expect from a Dark Wizard, not a Muggle. He stepped out of the room, giving the family a few minutes before Violet came out. 

"She asked for you," Violet said. Severus was confused, but went in anyway. 

"So, you're aware," Petunia said, weakly. 

"Yeah. I am sorry this happened to you. I would never wish this kind of thing on anybody," Severus responded. 

"Yeah, right. I bet inside you're delighted. Poor, stupid Petunia got what was coming to her." 

Normally, Severus would be angry about an accusation like that, but given the situation, he couldn't bring himself to be. "That's not true. I may have hated you when I was younger and sometimes you really do piss me off, I won't lie about that, but, that doesn't mean I wished you hurt."

"Is he going to be arrested?" 

"He already has been. Justice is coming for him. He won't be able to hurt you ever again." 

"Why do you talk like you understand what I am going through?" 

"Because I do understand, Petunia. You know what my home life was like before I began living with your family." 

"Did your father..." 

"No," Severus said quickly, getting what she was alluding to. "Not me. But my mother. He would force me to watch too and if I tried to leave the room he'd beat me and tie me up. My mother stopped trying to protect me long ago and just let whatever he wanted to do to her happen. I suspect if I had been a girl, I would have suffered the same fate as she did, I am sure of it in fact," Petunia paused as she realized just how horrific Severus' life has been. She knew about the beatings, but never knew he was forced to watch his mother be raped. 

"Tobias Snape was a sadistic bastard and he enjoyed hurting one of us to watch the other suffer from it. He was as good at mental torture as he was physical. I may be a prick, Petunia, but I am not sadistic. I actually have feelings toward those who deserve them," Severus continued. 

"Does Lily know about all this?" 

"Yeah, she does. I have no secrets from her whatsoever. You will find somebody like that too, Petunia." 

"I hope so." 

"I'll let you get some rest," and with that, he walked out. He noticed Lily looking at him intently. 

"I take it you heard," Severus said. 

"I did. I am surprised you told her that. It took forever for you to tell even me."

"I just wanted her to know that she isn't alone, Lily. I mean, you saw her and how broken and lifeless she seemed. Some women never deal with the trauma of rape and end up committing suicide. As I said, me and Petunia are not friends, but she is your sister and I don't want that to be her future." 

"Thank you for being so considerate, Sev. I am worried about her. What if she never does heal from this?" 

"I think she will. With the love and support you and your parents will give her, I think she will eventually heal." 

The next few days were just as bad and the atmosphere did not lighten a bit. Severus tried to help in any way that he could, but since Petunia is not his daughter or sister, he cannot help in the same way they can. The fact that she rarely spoke to anyone didn't help in her recovery either. She hardly eats, and almost never comes out of her room unless it's to go to the bathroom. The fact that her leg had multiple fractures might be a factor, but everyone knew that wasn't the real reason. Severus was kind of expecting this, but he knew there was nothing he could really do except let her deal with it on her own. The following week, however, was a slight improvement. Petunia was still a mess, but she spoke a bit more and actually came down for dinner one time and she did fairly well. At the beginning, however, Lily did ask him if there was anything he could do with his unique magic to help her. The resulting explosion was less than delightful, especially since John and Violet overheard most of it and they had to explain everything to them.

"Sev, would it be possible to remove the memory from her entirely. I can't stand seeing her like this," Lily said, obviously trying not to break down. 

"No, Lily, that would be a terrible idea. For one thing, I am not a specialist and another, you can't simply remove trauma like that. It would be possible to remove the memory, but not the trauma and that always sticks with you no matter what. Trust me, she is better off right now than if I were to interfere. We can support her, but she needs to find her own way of dealing, it is the only safe way," Severus responded. 

"Wow you're not very useful then are you?" 

Severus knew she only said it because of the situation, but that comment set him off. "You of all people should know that I am no miracle worker, Lily. Sure, I may be more powerful than your average wizard, but I cannot make problems go away with a snap of my fingers. If I could do that, Voldemort and Abraxas wouldn't exist, Remus wouldn't be a werewolf and my mother would still be alive and in her prime, not the grieving coward she was reduced to, or have you conveniently forgotten about all of these things?" 

"I have not, Severus!" 

"Oh, really? Because that is the line of thought I am getting from you right now. You think this magic is such a blessing and forget that it can do just as much bad as it can good. Have I mentioned that I can burn people to ash and embers with a simple touch in mere seconds? Or that I can generate raw electricity from my bare hands so powerful that it can kill somebody on contact if I chose to do so? Those are only some of the horrors this magic can do. Don't act like you are the only one under pressure because you are not. At least Petunia has a chance at recovering, a very high one with such a caring family. But me? I am stuck with this magic and I am so terrified that either Voldemort or Abraxas will find a way to circumvent my mental protections and take control of my mind and turn me into their own personal weapon." 

Before Lily could respond, John and Violet walked in. "What on Earth is going on in here?" John demanded. 

"Nothing," Lily started. 

"Don't give me that, Lily. We heard most of what just went on. Who are Voldemort and Abraxas?" 

Severus and Lily sighed. This was going to be a tough conversation. "Let's sit down first, and we'll explain everything." 

After they arrived in the living room, Severus started the conversation. 

"Let's start with the worst of the two. Abraxas is an Angel and not a good one. As my Angel friend Amara put it, 'he was born with no conscience.' A long time ago, he and a small group of followers waged war against another magical race, the Veela. He nearly drove them into extinction actually. He said that they were abominations that need to be wiped out."

"Is he still around?" Violet asked. 

"Yes, unfortunately. The Veela were saved because his closest companion killed him with his own weapon of creation, the Emerald Dagger. I had my hands on the very thing itself, but I gave it to Amara for safekeeping, I'll get to that later. Anyway, she was so overcome with grief over what she had done that she took desperate measures to preserve the little bit of his essence that had not yet burned away by the weapon's magic. She succeeded in allowing it to regenerate, but, once the others found out what she was doing, they killed her and contained Abraxas. Unfortunately, Voldemort found out about him and started using him in his weakened state in order to boost his own power." 

"How do you know all of this, Severus?" Violet asked in response. 

"He visited me in my mind. He explained that the warding keeping him contained would soon burn away and he would regain his power. He wanted me to join his cause in destroying Voldemort and then the Veela. I was all for Voldemort, but I refused to exterminate a race that did nothing to warrant that. He got very angry and said that he would come after everybody I loved and then kill me once I had suffered enough." 

"Does this mean we are in danger?" Violet asked, clearly afraid. 

"No, because my friend Amara is going to make sure that he cannot get to you. As for me and Lily, Hogwarts has the strongest protection around. He won't be able to get near it." 

"Now that we know about Abraxas, who is Voldemort?" John asked. 

Lily decided to explain this one. "He pretty much wants the same thing Abraxas wanted, except for Muggleborn witches and wizards. He's not an Angel, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous. I am not going to lie, things are looking bad for the Wizarding World, but we have the support of the entire Angel community with Sev's friend leading them. Abraxas is only one Angel and Voldemort is only one wizard. We are very confident that we will stop this before it gets too bad." 

"As long as you two are safe. Now, whatever went on earlier, put it aside. Severus, I understand the pressure you are feeling and Lily I know the grief you are feeling for Petunia, but don't push each other away. You two need each other and I don't want to see your relationship destroyed simply because one or both of you refuse to listen to reason," John said. 

A short while later, Lily sat down next to Severus and took his hand. He looked at her in surprise, but did not pull away. 

"I'm sorry, Sev. I should have known just how much this can get to you sometimes," Lily said.

"I'm sorry too, Lily. I probably shouldn't have exploded like I did. Like I said, I am just so afraid of something like that happening and what you said it just set me off for some reason. I don't really know why it did to be honest," Severus responded.

"So are we good, then?" 

"Yeah, we're good sweetheart," Severus responded before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her.


	15. A Holiday with Inias

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I felt like there hasn't been enough Inias in this story, so I felt like writing a chapter that actually has him in it. I hope you enjoy.

The following day, Severus got a letter from Inias asking that they spend the remainder of his holiday with one another. He told Lily and her family and they assured him it was okay for him to do so. Inias met him and then apparated him away to Prince Manor. 

"It has been a long time since I've seen this place. It hasn't changed much," Severus said. 

"No it really has not. It's been a while since we have talked, so what has been going on?" Inias asked, getting straight to the point. 

Severus sighed before explaining what has happened. First with Abraxas' apparent resurrection and being forced to give up the Emerald Dagger in order to stop Abraxas from getting his hands on it again. He then explained the prophecy told to him by Amara. He left out the events of what happened recently with Petunia as it wasn't his story to tell. He didn't think she or Lily would appreciate him telling somebody else without their permission so he left that as is. 

"Shame about the dagger, it could have been very useful to our cause, but you are right. If Abraxas truly is coming back, we need to keep him as far away from that as possible. As for the prophecy, you know that stuff isn't set in stone. Look what happened with your mother and her unborn child. Amara even admitted that the entire thing wasn't supposed to happen the way it did," Inias said. 

"I know and for that reason I don't put too much stock into it. Me and Lily are just going to continue on with our lives as normal and what happens...happens."

"That is the way I would do it."

Severus sat for a moment before asking a few questions that have been on his mind for a while, hoping Inias could answer them. 

"Inias, can I ask you something about...Mary?" 

"What about her, Severus?" 

"If the power that we carry is passed down to our children no matter what then why doesn't Mary seem to possess the power as well? I have been training her in defense and she has no extraordinary abilities." 

Inias sighed. This was going to be complicated. "Okay, remember how I said her mother is a Muggle?" At Severus, nod, he continued. "I am not normally one to preach about blood status or anything like that, as a witch or wizard having children with Muggles normally does not matter, but for us, it is very important. In order for the power to be passed properly, both parents must be magical in a sense. They don't necessarily have to be human as you or I could have a child with let's say a Veela for example and everything would be fine. But regardless, both parents must be magical. Mary likely does possess some residual magic like ours but she doesn't have total access to it like you or I do." 

"Also, I wanted to ask you something about the prophecy. I know what you said, but I want to know the significance of the winter solstice and fall equinox. Amara was very specific about those two dates." 

"Those are the days when an Angel's magic is at its most pure form and since you and I share the same magic with them that applies to us as well." Inias noticed Severus, confused look. "You really haven't noticed it?" 

"No, it's not as if I am using my full power at Hogwarts in classes. Why would I notice something like that and why is it important?" 

"Severus, say the prophecy does come true. Do you have any idea what would happen if your daughter was conceived and born on those two dates? She would be powerful beyond imagination and not to mention the purity of her soul and the amount of good she could do. If I were you I would keep a lid on that because if a certain someone were to catch wind of this he would likely hunt down and kill Lily in order to prevent the prophecy from happening entirely."

"Why would he do that? Surely Tom Riddle would have no fear of a baby." 

"He is scared of Angels, Severus. They absolutely terrify him. The only reason he has Abraxas like he does is because Abraxas is still weak. He would never dare face one at full power and if he were to learn everything, especially about a child conceived and born on the dates where their magic is the strongest and most pure, that would be his ultimate nightmare." 

"Have you been fighting him?" 

"Riddle? No, definitely not. He doesn't take part in the attacks himself. Mostly I've been working alongside some others in suppressing the Death Eaters and saving lives. We've had success and failure. I've tried to gather as much intel on him as I can and I haven't uncovered much that isn't already known. I came to realize his fear of Angels by complete coincidence."

"Who are you working with?"

"I cannot tell you, Severus. I was sworn to secrecy. I assure you that they are good people, but I cannot reveal more than that until my commander gives me the okay to do so." 

Severus nodded, realizing that Inias was not going to reveal more. He only hoped that the older man knew what he was doing and that he didn't end up getting himself hurt or killed. He was returned home the day before they were meant to be back to Hogwarts. He went up and hugged Lily, then Violet and John. 

"How's Petunia doing?" he asked. 

"She's doing better, I think. How was your time with Inias?" Violet asked. 

"It was pretty boring. He's not a fun guy by any means, but he's family," Severus left out the fact that he had learned some very interesting things. 

"Well he isn't exactly like us either. What he might consider entertaining and what we consider entertaining are likely two different things." 

"That is most definitely true," Severus responded, cracking a bit of a smile. 

"So, what have you all been doing?" 

"Mostly just trying to help Petunia as much as we can. We haven't had time for much else. She is definitely doing much better than she was when she got home from the hospital, but I am afraid she is still a long way from what she used to be," John said, sadly.

"Understandable. Recovery is a slow process, one some people never make. She is very lucky that you are all here for her." 

There wasn't much talk about anything important after that. The next day they all met at King's Cross where Severus and Lily boarded the Hogwarts Express to start the second half of their sixth year. Lily laid her head on Severus' shoulder and he ran his fingers through her hair, which she responded to by snuggling closer to him. Even after all this time there are still no words to describe how beautiful she is. Judging from her slow, even breathing, Severus realized she had fallen asleep. The door opened and Remus stepped in. Before Remus spoke, Severus put a finger to his lips and then pointed down to Lily. Remus got the message and nodded, before sitting across from them. 

"Is everything alright, all things considered?" Remus asked, quietly. 

"All things considered, Remus? I really think so," Severus responded. 

The remainder of the ride did not consist of much. Nobody else came in and Severus and Remus just spent the entire trip engaging in a quiet conversation so as to not wake Lily. When they finally got back to Hogwarts, Severus was glad to finally get to sleep. He was stopped by Damon in the common room, however. 

"How is Lily handling everything?" he asked. 

"Why are you asking about Lily? She wasn't the victim," Severus responded quietly to avoid drawing attention. 

"I know, but it is still her sister," 

"It was very difficult. I spent half the break with Inias, but, things are definitely improving. Still a long shot before things will be back to normal, but recovery is a step by step process and she has made it this far. She can make it the rest of the way." 

"I still can't believe that happened in the first place. What kind of sick bastard does a thing like that?" 

"I do not know, Damon. I am just glad that he will get what he deserves. However, if it were up to me, I'd have sliced his bits off. A very fitting punishment for someone who does what he did."

"I absolutely agree with that statement. Now what do you say we get to bed. I am exhausted." 

"I could definitely do with a bit of sleep myself." 

Severus had entered his dorm and after getting ready for bed, he laid down and allowed sleep to finally overcome him. Things were bad, but it was alright because now they are looking better again.


	16. Point of No Return (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome to the 16th chapter. Sorry this is late, but I have been experiencing internet problems due to a storm and I was also trying to decide what I want to put as Extras after this story is over and it isn't easy coming up with it as there is so many more options this time around. I may just do them all, I don't know. But, nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort was not a happy man. He had managed to capture one of the deadliest and most feared beings in the entire world in order to increase his own power, but, it no longer seems to be working as well. He checked the wards around the cage and even did a measurement on Abraxas' power, but nothing seems to have changed on either part. He decided it was time for a plan B and that was to interrogate Abraxas for the knowledge on how to kill Angels. With this knowledge, he would truly be unstoppable, at least that is how it would appear to his followers. In reality, Angels scare him and he knows that he would never have the nerve to try to fight one at full power and as a result of this fear, they needed to be eliminated as much as the mudbloods and blood traitors do. However, Abraxas won't be able to do anything to him in his current condition and if he refuses to cooperate, he'll be receiving a nice dose of the Cruciatus Curse. Angels are normally immune or highly resistant to all forms of magic cast by humans, not even the Killing Curse can kill them, but due to Abraxas' state, he is vulnerable to the Cruciatus Curse and it has been very useful indeed. Voldemort opened the cage with a wave of his wand and stepped inside. Abraxas was chained down in a chair and he looked up immediately at Voldemort's presence. 

"You are going to tell me everything I need to know about Angels and that means how to kill them." Voldemort said. 

"Am I now? How do you plan on making me do that, Human?" Abraxas sneered.

Voldemort quickly shot a Cruciatus at Abraxas. Abraxas groaned in pain, but quickly regained his posture. "I could do that over and over again. How does it feel to be powerless, Angel? It is no longer your time to rule, it is mine. Now, tell me how to kill Angels and maybe I'll give you a quick death." 

"I've already been there. Dying is nothing special. You think the Cruciatus Curse is going to work on me for much longer? Keep trying, it will make my day all the better. When I am free, and believe me, this dump will not hold me forever, I will show you how a true Lord rules. It will be time for YOU to bow to ME," Abraxas said sadistically. 

Voldemort cast the torture curse again, but Abraxas just laughed. "Voldemort, a rather pathetic name don't you think? It literally means 'flight from death' Abraxas' eyes lit up on the realization. "Ah that's what it is isn't it? You fear dying. You wish to cause a wave of horror so great that no one will challenge you just because you are terrified of the Realm of the Dead? That's absolutely pathetic and you want me to take you seriously?" 

Voldemort cast the torture curse once more, anger flaring. "Tell me what I need to know, now." 

"Torture me all you want Tommy boy. I have been through so much worse than this. You are still incompetent compared to me. You think the things you've done would even be a memory on the Wizarding World if they got word of the things I have done? The things I did to those foul creatures still haunt their nightmares and that was over a thousand years ago." 

Voldemort tried once again, but Abraxas still did not give in nor did he even come close to doing so. He just continued with the taunts until Voldemort had enough and walked away. Damn that creature! He would just have to find another way to break him, but how was he supposed to do so? He had no idea how to even harm an Angel, much less kill one and he knew Abraxas did not have any he held close to him that he could use to blackmail him. He sat in isolation trying to come up with SOMETHING. There was also another problem. His spies at Hogwarts reported to him that the one known as Severus Snape has been displaying certain characteristics to that of Angels, specifically the glowing eyes and the fact that injuries he sustained during a fight with them seemed to heal nearly instantly. This is a problem because if the boy can use Angel magic then he has connections to Angels as well. Maybe it was time to add Severus Snape to his list. He called in one of his followers. 

"My Lord, you asked for me?" the man said, kneeling in front of Voldemort. 

"Yes. It seems we have a major problem with one Severus Snape," Voldemort said. 

"Snape," the man sneered "has given my son and his friends more than enough problems. He has even killed one of our loyal supporters." 

"Yes he has indeed. Now, it is time to take care of this problem before it arises." 

"You mean kill him, my Lord? How would that be done?" 

"Tell your son to take care of it. He wants to join us right? Well he can consider this his...inspiration. I want it done and I want it clean, no evidence. Have him report to you after the deed is done and he shall be given the highest honor of being part of our Inner Circle." 

"It shall be done, my Lord" and with that the man left. 

XXXXX

Meanwhile, a few days later at Hogwarts, Severus and Lily were discussing their Holidays with their friends, minus the stuff with Inias. To say that they were all outraged at what happened with Petunia was an understatement. 

"I can't believe that disgusting pig did something so horrible! I want to hex him so bad that he won't be able to sit down ever again!" Mary seethed. 

"I think we can all agree on that one Mary," Cassandra added in. 

"So, Frank and Alice, have you two finally gotten together?" Lily teased. 

Frank looked embarrassed so Alice decided to answer that. "Not yet, but we're working up to it." 

"That's good. We need some happiness in these dark times," Severus said. 

"Agreed. We got a group of psychopaths out there doing who knows what, so better enjoy life because we never know when our number will be up," Cassandra said. 

"Okay, this conversation has gotten a little too dark for my tastes. What have you all been up to during the Holidays?" Remus asked. 

To say that conversation didn't go anywhere interesting was an understatement. Most of their holidays had been boring, their words. After this conversation ended, Remus wanted to spend some more time with Mary, Frank and Alice with each other and Cassandra became engrossed in her work as always, so Severus and Lily were once again left alone. It was nice talking to them again, at least for Severus. He most definitely missed their humor. The two walked down the corridor to get to class when they came across Damon, clearly stunned and laying on the ground. Before they could react, a sneering voice spoke from the shadows. 

"Well, well, well. I was hoping to catch you alone Snape, but a two for one deal isn't bad either," the person said, stepping out. 

"Avery," Severus said through gritted teeth and Lily's wand was instantly out. Severus did not draw his just yet, though. 

"What do you want?" Lily asked. 

"Well, the Dark Lord has decided that Snape here has become too big of a problem for his cause. He told me to kill him. Why am I telling you this? Well it is because you will be too dead to talk," and with that he wasted no time in attacking, starting off with a mildly strong cutting curse that missed completely. Severus retaliated by trying to disarm him, but Avery was faster than he thought. 

"I have been getting much better, Snape. You and your mudblood won't be enough this time," Avery sneered. 

Lily fired off a stunner that merely hit Avery's arm. It did not do much, but it did knock his wand out of his hand. 

"You knocked my wand away huh? That's okay, I've got a spare," he whipped out another wand from behind his back and quickly cast a stunner at Severus. Severus had no time to react and the spell hit him square in the chest and he was thrown back into one of the torches. He remained conscious thanks to his magically enhanced body, but he was still foggy and struggled to get back up.

Lily and Avery continued their duel and Lily nearly managed to disarm him again, but he moved out of the way at the last second. Lily then cast a tripping jinx, causing him to lose balance and fall right onto the concrete. Just as Lily was about to stun him, he quickly whipped around and had a sadistic smile on his face. He whispered something Lily could not hear and a sickly yellow spell was shot straight toward her so fast she barely even saw it coming. She felt agony beyond belief and slowly fell to her knees and blacked out. 

Severus recovered just in time to see Lily fall to a withering curse. It causes agonizing pain before killing the victim and the thought of Lily going through that made his blood boil. He reversed the spell, but Lily still remained unconscious. He quickly turned around and Avery shot the same spell at him, which he purposefully walked into. He felt his magic flare up as it neutralized the spell almost as soon as it hit. He looked right at Avery and his eyes flashed their common violet color and he reached his hand out and squeezed it into a fist, applying torturous pressure onto Avery. Avery was lifted into the air as Severus raised his hand higher. 

"You dare hurt her?" Severus said in a menacing voice.

"Please, let me go, I won't hurt her again, I swear!" Avery begged. 

"Why should I? You'll do this to someone else somewhere down the line, I know you will. Why shouldn't I just kill you right here and now? One less Death Eater to worry about." 

Before Severus could do anything else, however, a voice Severus wanted to hear the least shouted at him. 

"Severus Snape! Let him down this instant!" Dumbledore shouted. He was accompanied by Professor McGonagall, whom Dumbledore alerted to the fighting. Severus' concentration was broken and Avery fell to the ground, practically paralyzed from the sheer agony Severus had put onto him. 

"Why should I? He came here with the intent to kill me and Lily. He works for Tom Riddle. What is to stop him from doing this to somebody else?" Severus demanded. 

"We will allow him to be dealt with the proper way Severus. What you are doing here is not right. Avery is young, he doesn't yet realize his mistakes. He can be saved still," Dumbledore said.

"That is where you are wrong, Dumbledore. That kind of thinking will only cause the problem of Tom to grow worse until it becomes something you cannot control. With Abraxas on his way back I cannot afford to think like that. Dumbledore, heed my words: I am no pacifist. Right now, I am going to demonstrate exactly what should happen to all those who follow Tom Riddle," 

He quickly turned around and looked at Avery, who was shakily on his feet. His eyes flared again, brighter, and Avery was quickly engulfed in flames. After a few seconds of screaming, there was nothing left of Avery but a pile of smoldering ash. He was thoroughly incinerated. McGonagall was too shocked at the fact that one of her students had just killed someone in front of her to do anything. Dumbledore quickly waved his wand and Severus was hit in the chest by a stunner, this one knocking him completely unconscious as it was cast by another who had the same kind of power. Dumbledore looked down sadly. One student was dead, killed by the other whom he had just stunned. Severus has gone dark. Dumbledore found himself out of options, he needed to contact Amara and hand Severus over to the Angels. He did not want to do this, but the Ministry would not be able to hold him and he can't allow someone who has gone dark with this much power to roam free. Dumbledore took Severus to his office and focused his magic and called out to Amara, hoping it would work. To his relief, it did as she would come through the door seconds later. 

"Albus Dumbledore. It is no secret that I do not like you. I hope you are calling me for something truly important as my friend is lying unconscious and tied to your chair," Amara said, irritated. 

"Yes, Amara. We have a problem, a big problem," Dumbledore said, gravely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The arc of Dark Severus has officially begun. I have had this in the works for a while, but I wanted to surprise you guys with it. How do you think Lily will react when she wakes up and finds out what happened? What will happen to Severus and is it truly a point of no return? Find out later on as we go down this crazy road.


	17. Point of No Return (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part to Point of No Return. Don't worry, there will still be a new chapter Sunday that isn't changing. This is a two part chapter so I won't make you wait a full week to see the rest of it. As for Dark Severus, he is here to stay for a while. There is a deeper meaning toward his abrupt change but that won't be explained until later and he will eventually find his way back but not for a while. I hope you enjoy.

Amara and Dumbledore were continuing their conversation in his office. It was obvious that she was irritated, but, after some of the things Dumbledore had said she started to become concerned. She would never put too much stock into the words of a man she didn't trust, but, his sincerity may be starting to change that. 

"Are you sure he just killed him with no reason? The last time he killed someone, Lily Evans was almost raped and you and I both know he loves her more than anything and would absolutely kill for her any time," Amara stated. 

"I do not know what happened Amara as I said. I realized a fight was going down and I went to put a stop to it. After me and my colleague arrived, we found Miss Evans unconscious with no sign of injury and Severus was clearly torturing Avery. He then proceeded to tell me that all followers of Lord Voldemort should die in a voice colder than I have ever heard him speak in and then just set Avery on fire right there. I had to stun him and bring him here," Dumbledore responded. 

"Still, though, this does not explain why you need me. Surely if you believe he committed cold blooded murder, why not turn him into the Ministry?" 

"The Ministry cannot hold him you know that. Severus Snape has become immensely powerful. I fear that what he can do would make even Voldemort himself think twice about coming after him." 

"Okay, I will take him to the House of Angelstar if that is what you really want. I am going to get to the bottom of this and if action needs to be taken against Severus then action shall be taken." Amara then grabbed Severus and left without a word. Dumbledore sighed. He did not want it to come to this and he hoped there was something he was not seeing, because he had come to greatly respect the young man and did not want to see him become a murderer. He thought it best to inform Lily and Remus about what happened before announcing to everyone else what had gone down. After all, a murder had taken place inside the castle and he wouldn't be able to keep a lid on that for long.

Meanwhile, Lily had woken up in the Hospital Wing and saw Remus next to her, but when she looked around she saw no sign of Severus anywhere. There was no sign he had even been there. 

"Lily! You're awake. What the hell happened? There is some rumors of a major fight breaking out, you're brought in here unconscious and now Sev is missing," Remus said frantically.

"What do you mean Sev is missing? That bastard didn't hurt him did he?" Lily asked, now frantic herself. 

"I don't even know what happened, Lily, as I said." 

Before Lily could say more, however, Dumbledore came in and explained that he needed to speak to the both of them in his office as soon as Lily was discharged, which she was shortly once it was determined that she was fine. After they arrived at his office, Dumbledore sat down and stated that they should do the same. This had them extremely worried, especially once they saw the look on his face. 

"I regret to inform you that Severus will no longer be attending Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. 

Remus was shocked. "Why? What happened?" 

"Well, you are aware of the fight that broke out yesterday I am sure. Well, what you don't know, is that after Lily was knocked unconscious, Severus lost his temper. I walked in on him torturing Avery. It was horrific. He then killed him right in front of me, set him on fire and burned him so badly there was no body left."

Lily was in denial. "No...my Sev wouldn't do that. Surely you must be mistaken?" Remus just looked at her with a curious 'I told you so' look. 

"I am afraid not. I have called upon Amara and she has taken him into custody. What happens with him is out of our hands. I am afraid Severus has reached a point of no return." 

"Come on. It is Sev we're talking about here," Lily stated again.

Dumbledore was not the next to speak, however, it was Remus. "Lily, I can believe Sev would do it. Are you telling me that you haven't noticed his colder attitude lately? I don't know what it is, but it is almost as if he doesn't want anything to do with us anymore. When he looks at me, I don't see the warmth his eyes once held. I see nothing but cold, emptiness." 

"And how do you know that wasn't just you? You do have a record for pissing people off Remus! Maybe you pissed him off so he is giving you the cold shoulder? How dare you say Sev is guilty!" Lily said, obviously trying her hardest not to break down. 

Dumbledore put a stop to this argument, however. "Enough! He is guilty, I can assure you. I do not wish to see him punished, I want to help him. Hopefully Amara can find the reason behind his sudden change in attitude." 

Dumbledore left them for a minute before telling them that they should take the day off and work through what has happened. Lily and Remus made it quite some distance from the Headmaster's office before she fell to the floor and finally let her emotions out. Remus wrapped his arms around her and held her for comfort. 

"Shh, Lily. We'll get him back, I promise you."

"You don't know that, Remus. What if this is the new him? What if...what if I'll never get my Sev back?" Lily said through her heartbreaking sobs. 

Remus did not say anything else, not wanting to upset Lily further. He just held her instead until she calmed down somewhat. Remus hoped that he was right and that Severus can still be saved. If he can't be it could very well be the end of Lily as well. Remus has never before seen such profound and established love that those two share. They are truly soulmates and he isn't sure if Lily would be able to go on without him and even if she could, she would be changed forever. 

Dumbledore announced what happened later that day and most were surprised, but they also praised Severus. 'One less Death Eater to worry about' and 'good riddance' seemed to be the top comments in response. Later on that day, Lily visited Dumbledore, much calmer, and explained everything that she could remember up until she was knocked out. This was very fortunate because Dumbledore was able to use her testimony to get Severus off the hook with the Ministry and get the killing of Avery ruled as self defense as he was indeed using magic that was meant to cause serious injury. This changed Dumbledore's view of the situation somewhat, but, unfortunately, Severus was now in the custody of the Angels and whatever they decided to do was out of his hands. If they thought he was a danger they could very well decide to eliminate him. Amara may be Severus' friend, but if it came down to it, Dumbledore knew she would do whatever the right thing is. He silently hoped that 'the right thing' didn't include killing Severus. 

XXXXX

Severus woke up in a dark room and he immediately noticed that he was chained to a wall. He tried to tap into his magic to break free, but found that he couldn't. He tried harder, even yanking the chains, hoping that he could rip them off the wall, but only succeeded in hurting himself. 

"Don't bother. It isn't going to work. Those chains are warded to completely block access to your magic," a voice said from the other side of the room. Severus noticed that there was another prisoner, also chained to the wall. 

"Where are we?" Severus asked.

"The House of Angelstar. The main base of operations for the Angel community. It also serves as their prison, which is where we are now."

"What are you in here for?" the person asked after several moments of silence. 

"Murder," Severus stated, as if here simply talking about the weather. 

"Hmm. Interesting. Me, I'm not really a prisoner. I am just someone who has trouble controlling his magic as it has become rather erratic after my family died. I came here for guidance and this is simply a precaution while they find a solution for me. If you are in here for murder, though, and it warranted their involvement, I definitely do not envy you. You are in seriously hot water." 

"Amara is my friend and the leader of the Angels. I am not worried." 

"Don't think that will save you, Severus. Amara will carry out whatever justice that needs to be done. I sure hope that whoever you murdered deserved it because you are likely going to be executed." Of course the man didn't know that the person Severus 'murdered' was in fact a Death Eater in training and was the son of the man who has been suspected of numerous crimes, but was never proven to be guilty. 

The door was opened a second later and an Angel whom Severus did not know walked in. He undid the chains from the wall, but kept them bound tightly to Severus' wrists. 

"Let's go, Severus. The Commander wants to see you," the Angel said as he walked him down the corridor to another prison cell where he was once again chained to the wall. 

"Thank you. You may leave," Amara said. She then looked at Severus. 

"We have a lot to talk about Severus. You have thoroughly disappointed me. I thought you were better than this. What were you thinking?"

"Avery was trying to kill me. He nearly killed Lily. Twice actually. Do you think I am going to sit there and play by Dumbledore's little pacifist rules while scum like him exist and will do who knows what to innocent people? No. He got what he deserved," Severus ranted. 

"Maybe so. But you have exposed yourself to the entirety of Hogwarts school and indirectly to Tom Riddle as well. Do you really think your power has not gotten back to him by now? You are likely his number one target now due to your carelessness. If you had simply stunned Avery and then left me to deal with him while you healed Lily, this whole mess could have been avoided," Amara responded, obviously angry, but she was not finished.

"I gave you full access to your abilities because I thought you were responsible enough to handle them. I told you the prophecy that would be crucial to your future, but do you really think that it is likely to happen now that Lily knows what you have done? It has devastated her beyond belief. Congratulations, you have possibly single handedly ruined something wonderful that has only happened once before in the entirety of wizardkind."

"Amara do you have any idea how ridiculous it sounded in the first place? Be honest. How is a child going to help me defeat Voldemort?" 

"It isn't about the child, Severus!" Amara raged. "It is about the emotion of love and the purity of the child's soul and magic. It is Tom Riddle's greatest weakness. Being the father to a child so pure and good would give you the ability to destroy him simply through the connection. Same thing would have applied to Lily! The prophecy is still active, so hope is not lost yet, but if you don't get your act together and prevent any further mistakes, I am afraid you will void the prophecy entirely and your daughter will never be born because either you or her, possibly both will not survive to see the eventual end of Tom Riddle." 

"So what do I do then? Just pretend this prophecy will happen simply because you say so?" 

Amara sighed, having no idea what else to say. Dumbledore was right, Severus has begun walking the dark side. Whenever he spoke of the prophecy before, there was definitely disbelief in his voice, but he was also excited at the idea. Now it was like he couldn't care less. She needed to speak with Remus Lupin as he was the one who began to suspect something was off about Severus in the first place. "No, Severus. You are going to stay here. I have something I need to do. We will finish this chat when I get back and then we'll decide what needs to be done with you. If it is determined that you are a danger to the innocent, then you will be executed, your body burned and your ashes sent back to your family." Amara walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Her voice was no longer angry, just resigned. She doesn't want to kill him, but if he becomes a danger then she will have no choice. She just hopes that whatever is influencing Severus is some kind of outside force.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Dark Severus is here to stay for a while. This isn't something that will go away in just a couple chapters. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you again on Sunday.


	18. The Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of problems with this chapter I am not going to lie. I have no idea where to even begin. I am very conflicted on how to make this work with my future plans and I had no idea it would be this difficult. If you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to share them with me, because I am more stuck now than I have ever been.

It has been so long since Severus was chained down in this dungeon, he has forgotten what month it even is. He knows that the month of January has long since passed, but besides that, nothing. Amara has made little to no effort to even talk to him. She hinted that she was finding a way to help him, but aside from that, she barely spoke 10 sentences to him in all this time. The person he was locked up with is also gone, so, he is totally alone. He may be full of rage and anger at the Death Eaters for harming Lily, as well as Dumbledore for playing it off as if it were no big deal and sentencing him to this hell, but, he must admit that he is lonely. Lily and Remus had no way to contact him, and, even if they did he doubted they would. He brutally tortured Avery and then set him on fire. HE wouldn't want to talk to him, let alone his most likely ex-girlfriend and best friend. Suddenly the door opened and Severus heard the familiar voice of Amara. 

"Update from the outside world," she said, obviously happy about something. 

Severus rolled his eyes. "I don't care. Go away."

"But I do. You know that Lily still misses you every day? So does Remus. You're lucky in more ways than one."

"Why do you care about Remus? The only reason you care about Lily is so she can be the catalyst for your precious prophecy," he sneered. "And Remus is of no use to you so you have no reason to care for him at all." 

Amara took his words as if they were nothing. This isn't the Severus she knows, so his words hold no water over her. "You know that isn't true, Severus. This isn't even the real you I am talking to right now. You are nothing but a shadow of the friend I have come to know. I am not Albus Dumbledore, I don't use people for my own agendas like he does." 

"What does Dumbledore have to do with this?" Severus asked, now curious. 

"You honestly think he wouldn't have tried to use you if you trusted him? It's what he does," Amara answered. 

"Why are you really here, Amara? Finally decided to execute me have you? I know it wasn't just to make conversation since you have barely spoken 10 sentences in the time I've been here, which I have long since lost track of." 

"For your information, it is now the month of March. As to why I am here, I have finally found a solution to help you. I believe your mind has been tampered with." 

"By who? Nobody aside from an Angel can have that kind of power over me."

"And just what Angel has been in your mind that would do something like this, Severus? You and I both know the answer to that."

Realization came over Severus. "Abraxas"

"Precisely," Amara confirmed. 

"What does it matter anyway? He may have made me more of what I already am, but truth is, I would have killed Avery regardless. He hurt Lily, he deserved everything he had coming to him. I would have done worse had it not been for Dumbledork showing up. Are you recalling what I did to Mulciber's father? He's also no longer breathing." 

"But you didn't torture him relentlessly, Severus. He was going to do even worse to Lily, and you were still merciful with what you did." 

"Maybe so. But even you have to agree with me, Amara. What the Death Eaters are, what they do, do you honestly believe that they deserve mercy? They sure don't show mercy to their victims, so I should show mercy because Dumbledore says? He is a pacifist and he is going to get us all killed." 

"I was glad you killed him, Severus. I am just not happy with the way you did it. You also exposed yourself in the process. But since I have found the problem, I will be back with the solution."

After she walked out, Severus was once again left alone to ponder her thoughts. She was right. He did kill Mulciber's father, but he wasn't nearly as brutal then. Had Abraxas really changed him entirely, or did he just bring out Severus' greatest nightmare in that he would turn dark and become a danger to others and possibly turn those close to him against him? If that was his goal then he surely accomplished it. Amara returned shortly after with what looks like a Muggle syringe, but it was metal and had symbols on it and much larger. 

"I am going to inject my blood into your system to force a connection between us. From inside, I will do what I can to get rid of, or at least dampen the one Abraxas set up. This is barbaric and generally highly forbidden, but I have no other choice." 

After the injection, Amara waited for a few minutes for it to work. Once she was sure it had she sat down in front of him and put both her hands on the side of his head and entered his mind. Once she was inside, she was shocked by what she found. She saw his mother Eileen binding his magical core, blocking all of his natural abilities, leaving only his self-healing even remotely intact, but so negligible, one would never notice a difference. She also felt every emotion he did since then. First, complete devastation then resignation that this was his new life. She felt the first spark of hope he did when he met Lily for the first time as well as the disdain for the Marauders, who were attacking him for no reason whenever they could. She then felt his utter horror at meeting Remus in werewolf form and if James Potter had been even a second later, Severus would have been killed. Then came fifth year when he rejected the Death Eaters and she felt his elation that he and Lily were now in a relationship. After scanning for several more minutes through things that were unimportant or things that she already knew, she found what she was looking for. Abraxas did more than just talk and threaten Severus. He had left a crack in his mind, effectively allowing Abraxas to influence him whenever he wanted. This would explain Severus' sudden change in personality. The torture, the rage, the cold hostility, it is what Abraxas showed to his Veela victims before killing them so long ago and the 'residue' of that darkness is beginning to infect Severus as well thanks to Abraxas leaving the door wide open. He is not yet a danger to those close to him, but that will change if nothing is done about it especially when you combine this with Severus' own dark side. While it is not extreme and he feels emotions to those who actually deserve them, Abraxas will no doubt exploit the combination. 

Amara quickly went to work. Doing this took a lot of effort because Abraxas was far more powerful than she is, but, she was eventually able to get it done. She withdrew from Severus' mind and the fog cleared from his eyes. 

"So, did you enjoy the show? Nosing around in my head like that isn't very nice you know," Severus said, sarcastically. 

"I have successfully blocked the connection between you and Abraxas. In a few more months you will be back to normal. You will remain here until then," and with that she left. 

Amara arrived in her own room and sat down. She knew that what she had done to try to stop Abraxas from influencing Severus would not be permanent. With the right trigger her block would easily dissolve if Abraxas himself didn't completely override it. It is true that Abraxas would no longer poison Severus' mind as long as it held, but if it broke down, then all she had accomplished would be reversed and Severus would likely become even more dangerous than he is now. The only way to sever the connection permanently would be to kill Abraxas and there was no way she could do that on her own and if Severus even tried to stand against him he'd be forced to watch his loved ones be slaughtered, possibly by his own hand if Abraxas can establish that much influence over him and then his own time would come because that is what Abraxas does. He tortures his victims in the worst ways both physically and mentally before ending their lives. For the first time in a long time she wished her mother were still with her to tell her what to do because she honestly has no idea. She could either attempt to find and kill Abraxas and save her friend or she could kill her friend to spare him from being used as a weapon and to save lives in the process. Neither option sounds possible because for one she lacks the raw power and for the other she lacks the willpower. Maybe she isn't as much of a fearless leader as her fellow Angels consider her to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I would like to say that if I do choose to continue down this road and not completely redo this, Dark Severus is not gone forever. He will be back, hopefully in a place where it actually fits. I decided to use this as the foundation for it.


	19. Progress Is Progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys I am back. I apologize for the long wait, I ended up having to dogsit for my neighbors who are on a month long vacation and I got the request on a moment's notice. As a result of this entire situation I have also been incredibly tired and haven't been able to do much of anything due to my unstable sleep schedule and I wanted to be able to focus on this chapter which is something I haven't been able to do. But I am back so I hope you enjoy.

It was another day for Lily and Remus, or another month should be more like it. It was now April and for Lily that marked another month without her Severus, and for Remus, while he also missed Severus, his absence didn't bother him as much, although, he knew this was because he was just trying to keep his mind off it. He wanted his friend back, his real friend and not this...dark imitation. However, as he looked over to Lily, he noticed a group of girls whom he did not know walk up to her. They were obviously being rude, but Remus did not catch what they were saying at first. He subtly moved closer until he was within hearing range, and what he heard pissed him off beyond belief.

"...slimy psychopath. Move on already, Lily. He's not coming back and you need to accept that. You're already pathetic enough as it is," the girl with the ridiculous hair said.

"Leave me the hell alone," Lily said.

"Or what?" the girl sneered. "What are you going to do to us? You're pathetic without that greasy git by your side. Girls, let's teach her a lesson shall we?" She raised her wand and fired off a spell, but Remus was quick to react and raised a shield in front of Lily. He then walked over to her, wand trained on the group.

"Oh look who it is, the surrogate boyfriend. Looks like sweet precious Lily moves on quickly," another one of the girls stated.

"Walk away, NOW!" Remus said, his voice colder than Lily had ever thought possible.

"Really? There's five of us and one of you. Who do you think has the high ground here?" The leader of the group sneered.

"I AM PRETTY SURE WE DO!" Another female voice shouted. It was Cassandra. She joined Remus along with Mary, Alice, Frank and Damon. Each one of them had their wands out and aimed at the group. Both sides held their ground, though the group of girls looked wary.

"You think you're so good don't you? Attacking Lily while she's hurting emotionally. We both know you're nothing more than a coward, Melinda," Cassandra said.

The girl, Melinda, tried to retort, but Cassandra was not finished. "You're pathetic, your hair looks ridiculous and you and I both know the REAL reason you're attacking Lily. It's because you are jealous that she HAS someone to mourn for, unlike yourself. You on the other hand have these lackeys that are mediocre at best. I mean if I were you I would probably feel the same."

Melinda had enough and cast a spell at Cassandra, who deflected it as if she were swatting a fly. "First one is free...next one will cost you dearly." She tried again, as predicted and was laid out on the ground. Before anything else could happen, however, Professor McGonagall came upon the scene, a livid look on her face.

"What is going on here?!" she asked, furiously.

Remus tried to explain what happened, as did Lily, but the other side just started spewing out false stories that made absolutely no sense. McGonagall reacted accordingly.

"That will be 20 points each and a week's worth of detention for all of you," she said to Melinda's gang of girls. "As for you," she glared at Melinda herself, "This is hardly your first offense for bullying. As a result, 20 additional points will be taken from your house along with an extra week of detention."

"That's hardly fair, Professor. Potter and his cronies got away with bullying all the time," Melinda tried to protest, only to be shut down immediately by the strict professor.

"Those days are over. The next infraction will result in you getting a recommendation for a short-term suspension as well as having 50 points deducted from your house. Every other week I am getting reports of you bullying somebody, Miss Evans especially. It stops now. Move along all of you." McGonagall said before walking away. Melinda and her gang walked away also.

"Wow, I haven't seen McGonagall that angry in a while," Damon said.

"She's tired of Melinda's behavior. Ever since Severus got expelled, she's been horrid to Lily," Frank said.

"Guys, it's okay, really," Lily tried to say.

"No, it isn't, Lily. You are obviously missing Severus dearly. Hell, we all are, but you most of all. She is taking advantage of that. Her treatment of you because of her own pathetic insecurity and inability to find a boyfriend for herself does not excuse what she is doing by any means," Alice jumped in.

"I agree. We're all here for you, Lily," Mary said.

"Thank you guys. You are right, it has been very hard for me. I haven't heard a thing from him in months. Wherever he is now, I just hope he is okay."

"We all hope so too, Lily," Remus said.

"So, what do you all have in mind today? Other than coming within two seconds of cursing a certain bitch that is," Cassandra said and everyone else cracked a smile at that.

* * *

Meanwhile. Severus was still in the same place he had been for months: alone in this cold, dark prison. Nothing but memories of Lily and the distant hum of magical instruments to keep him company. Some people say isolation can drive a man insane, and Severus sometimes wondered if he was already there. He knows he can't complain, though, he got himself into this situation. Sure, Abraxas may have a degree of influence over him or whatever Amara said, but it was Severus who made the choice to kill Avery. Abraxas did not do that for him. With that, Severus laid down and did what he could to sleep. He woke up about two hours later to his door being opened.

"Can we make this quick? I'm a little tired," Severus said, the tiredness evident in his voice.

"I just came to ask how you're feeling. Is Abraxas still in your mind?" Amara asked.

"Am I still having the urge to rip someone's throat out? No. Is he still there? Yes. I can still feel him in a distant corner of my mind," Severus answered.

"Well that's good. Progress is progress, even if it isn't much. Eventually you won't be able to feel him at all and everything will be back to normal," Amara said.

"Yeah, I guess. Can we talk about this some other time? I am tired as I said."

"No problem. Sorry for waking you. I need to get back to what I was doing anyway."

Amara arrived back in her office a few minutes later. She contemplated Severus' situation once again. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, even if it was a bit slower than she anticipated. She kept an ear out for anything that sounds like Abraxas, but, so far she found nothing. So this either means that Abraxas is laying low planning something very nasty or he hasn't escaped yet from wherever he was being held. The longer it took him, the more time it gave her to prepare, so she is all for it. She looked down to the book in front of her, a book of the most obscure and ancient magics ever recorded. She had a talk with Inias Prince a few days ago, and what she found was surprising, and so obscure she doubts anybody knows about it and if anyone does, that number is very low.

 _"The Ritual of Helios: A Possible Cure for Werewolves?"_ she read into it more.

_"The Ritual of Helios is a very obscure ritual. First discovered in the year 1337, it is unknown what this ritual was originally designed to do, only that its current purpose is to cleanse a person or animal of Dark Magic. Among the very few who know about it, it is believed that this could be a possible cure for those infected with Lycanthropy. As you hopefully know, Lycanthropy is not a disease, but a very dark and very complicated blood curse. It is believed that this ritual could be used to rewrite the unfortunate victim's DNA to such a degree that Lycanthropy would no longer be an issue. There are downsides to it of course, as with all obscure magic. This ritual is a soul ritual, and it requires a powerful conduit, far more powerful than the average witch or wizard. The next downside, is that the conduit will lose a part of his or her soul. Damaging a soul can have drastic consequences, so it is recommended that this ritual only be used in the most extreme and dire situations."_

Amara set the book down. She knows Severus would be powerful enough to make the ritual work. Getting him to agree to it is another thing. A soul, if damaged, will heal itself overtime, but in the time that it is repairing itself it can indeed have some pretty heavy consequences. 'Remus Lupin, I hope this is worth it, especially if your friend agrees to damage his soul to get the job done' she thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's this chapter done. I am hoping I can continue updating on a weekly basis, but it isn't 100% guaranteed. We'll just have to play it by ear for now. Also, I finally figured out how to get the formatting to work properly, so yay for that.


	20. The Ritual of Helios...and an Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, welcome to a new chapter. My schedule is still insane, and I ended up breaking a key on my old computer while I was writing this chapter, so that stopped me in my tracks for some time. I got a new one that performs much better, so I will be able to write more frequently and get chapters posted quicker. I hope you enjoy.

After Amara's discovery of the Ritual of Helios she wondered if she could use it for another purpose: to block Abraxas from Severus' mind permanently. After all, it was the work of his corrupting influence that forced out Severus' long buried dark side. There was only one problem of course which is that an Angel cannot act as a conduit for the ritual. One can initiate the process, but cannot have their souls used for the ritual due to their complex nature. However, a human with an Angel's strength and abilities is still a human and would still have a human soul. The only one she knows of and trusts with this ability is none other than Inias Prince. However, given what she knows about what happens to those whose souls are destroyed and that Severus and Inias' magic would completely negate the lethality of it, she became reluctant. However, this wasn't too drastic so it should be okay. Maybe it was time to pay Inias a visit after all.

* * *

 

Inias Prince was sitting in his study as usual when the wards alerted him to someone's presence. He looks up to see Amara standing right above him.

"Amara. So what do I owe you this time?" Inias asked.

"I need any other information you have on the Ritual of Helios," Amara answered.

Inias frowned. "I gave you everything I have on it. Besides, why do you need it? Didn't you want to cure Remus of Lycanthropy?"

"Yes, but I know it has other uses. I need to know what else it can do. It could be the key to saving Severus from Abraxas. You and I both know what will happen if he gets ahold of him."

"Well, I don't know. Why don't you test it out to see?"

"That's the problem, I can't. An Angel's soul cannot be used for Soul magic. Regular witches and wizards, while many are powerful, they are not powerful enough for it to work either. However, a human with an Angel's strength and abilities would be perfect for it." Amara sighed, before speaking again. "Problem is, I only know of three: Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and yourself. I don't trust Dumbledore in the slightest and Severus can't use it on himself, so that leaves only you."

Inias looked down in consideration before answering. "If it will save Severus, then I'll do it."

"First, you need to know what this entails, Inias. Soul magic draws magic from your soul, not your magical core. Your magic will remain completely intact, but, your soul will suffer damage in the process. This will cause you pain beyond anything you can ever imagine, beyond anything that can be physically or magically inflicted upon you on a normal scale."

"I know, I gave you the book, remember? I have to ask, though, will the damage be permanent?"

"No, the soul will heal itself overtime. However, if the stress becomes too much it could be burned entirely which would not kill you but would leave you to a fate you do not want to know about."

"Okay, let's do this," and with that they were gone.

* * *

 

Severus awoke to the sound of his door opening and saw Amara standing there which was not unusual. However, what was unusual, was Inias' presence.

"Inias, what are you doing here?" Severus asked.

"I am here to save you Severus. Abraxas will not get you, not on my watch," Inias answered.

Amara explained everything and Severus agreed, as long as it would get that bastard out of his head permanently, and get him out of this hellhole.

"This is going to be awkward...but I need you to take off your clothes. You won't need to be entirely naked, but I am going to use a paint and brush to draw the necessary runes and I need to cover as much as possible." After they did as they were asked, Amara tied them down on tables a few feet apart for safety. Once she was finished she spoke.

"Now I am going to begin the initiation. Severus, you will not feel anything, except maybe a headache but Inias will suffer unimaginable pain I'm afraid. Before you get angry, he agreed to do this. I did not coerce him in any way."

Severus nodded in acknowledgement and Inias also nodded as a way to tell her to get it overwith already.

Amara began chanting in an ancient language and the runes on Severus and Inias' bodies began to glow faintly. Inias could feel it beginning, a dull pain. However, after about a minute, the glow got brighter and the pain intensified to a barely tolerable level. 30 more seconds passed, even though it felt like several hours and the glow was almost blinding, but the pain was just as awful as Amara said it would be. It was only a few more seconds before Inias couldn't hold it in anymore and screamed loudly. The last thing he saw was a bright flash of gold light just as the runes began disappearing. He slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

Once the ritual was done, Severus felt a dull headache just as Amara said he might, but aside from that, nothing. He looked over to Inias who was clearly unconscious.

"Is he okay?" Severus asked, frantic.

"Yes, he's alive. As for whether or not he is okay, I do not know. I need to get one of our specialists in here to take a look at him so we can know just how much damage this did to his soul. I'll be back momentarily," she said before walking out, releasing Severus from his bindings in the process.

Several minutes later, Amara came back in with another Angel who wore a strange outfit and had an almost greenish tint to her hair. The Angel knelt down and ran a scan, before pulling out some parchment to record her findings. After she was finished she walked out, leaving Amara to discuss this with Severus.

"Well, I think you should look at this for yourself, Severus," she said, handing the parchment to him. It read:

_General Health and Information_  
_Name: Inias Josiah Prince_  
_Date of Birth: February 28th, 1939 (age 38 years)_  
_Magical Illnesses: Soul Damage - Moderate_  
_Magical Core Charge: 100%_  
_Magical Core Capacity: 5,025 MI_  
_Soul Integrity: 71%_  
_Additional Notes: Soul is damaged to a moderate degree. Any further damage to the soul in a short period of time could lead to serious consequences._

"So does this mean that there won't be any consequences?" Severus asked.

"Not this time, but he needs to let his soul heal itself before doing such a thing again. Anything above a moderate damage reading means that other things will start to become affected such as the ability to feel emotion will lesson, and if the damage becomes too severe, it will have fatal consequences," Amara answered.

"How is it measured?"

"I admire your curiosity, Severus. Anything between 99% to 86% is considered minor damage. 85% to 70% is moderate damage. 69% to 54% rated as unsafe. 53% to 38% is rated as highly dangerous. Then it goes to extremely dangerous and then lethal."

"But it will be fixed, right? You said so yourself."

"Yes, but if you use this ritual yourself, I only recommend it if it is an emergency. While a normal wizard would suffer eventual death if their soul reaches lethal level damage, you and Inias both would suffer a fate far worse," Amara paused before going on to explain what she means. "With other witches and wizards, their minds shatter, rendering them in a permanent trance-like state until their body gives out. But because you have a far more advanced magic than any other magical being on the planet aside from Angels, this would not happen. Your magic would keep your mind intact and keep you functioning as if nothing had happened, but because your soul is gone, you would be unable to feel any emotion at all whatsoever and this would eventually lead to corruption and a wish to destroy in a vain hope to feel what your mind knows you should feel, but will never be able to again."

Severus looked horrified. His mind immediately went to Lily. He did not want to imagine how it would be to know he is supposed to love her, but unable to feel the true emotion. He can't think of anything worse than that.

"So, you see why most evidence of this ritual was kept unknown intentionally because there literally is nothing worse than a fate such as that."

"What is going to happen to Inias?"

"When he wakes up and is feeling well enough, we'll send the both of you on your way. The ritual appears to have been effective, so it is no longer necessary to keep you here."

Severus perked up. As much as he enjoyed Amara's company, he didn't enjoy the dark dungeon. He was happy to be getting out of there.

* * *

 

In a distant place, Abraxas sat chained to his usual torture chair. The wards were almost broken now, he could feel it. It was only a little bit longer now. The imbecile as he was calling him just walked in and tried to interrogate him once more. However, this time, he was accompanied by four of his idiotic followers.

"So, Abraxas. Are you ready to tell me what we want to know?" Voldemort asked/demanded. It was the same garbage, just different day.

Abraxas did not answer, just sent a Cruciatus at him. However, this time, it had absolutely no effect on him whatsoever. Abraxas just started laughing as he realized what was happening. The wards had burned out and Tom had yet to realize it. Abraxas decided to play along for now, enjoying the moment.

Voldemort was enraged upon hearing Abraxas' laughter. He sent a high powered cutting curse at him, but the wound healed instantly. Voldemort tried three more cutting curses, as well as five Cruciatus curses, none of them doing any damage to Abraxas whatsoever. Abraxas was growing bored.

"There is one thing you have yet to realize you imbecile!" Abraxas shouted.

"What is that?!" Voldemort demanded.

Abraxas looked straight into Voldemort's eyes. Illuminated gold met crimson red. "It's showtime," Abraxas said with a smile on his face before the chains became red hot and then exploded as if they were made of glass. He slammed his foot into the ground and Voldemort and the Death Eaters were thrown back into the wall. One of the Death Eaters pulled out a magical dagger, only to have it turned back on himself. Two more attempted to fire cutting curses, which Abraxas deflected back at their casters, leaving fatal wounds on them. Normally he would have just torched them with a snap of his fingers, but he wasn't quite strong enough to focus his power on multiple targets yet. He picked up the magical dagger, and drove it through the final Death Eater's back just as he turned he saw Voldemort getting up.

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort screamed, and Abraxas let the ray of green light hit him square in the chest as if to prove a point and prove it he did. The Killing Curse, unblock-able, irreversible and an instant kill if it hits anywhere on the body, had absolutely no effect on him. Voldemort was loath to admit it, but for the first time in his life he was truly terrified. This creature was a terrifyingly powerful being that is immune to the Killing Curse, a feat never seen before in the entirety of wizardkind.

Abraxas simply responded by holding out his hand. Voldemort clutched his sides and before long he was screaming out in agony. If his followers could see him now, they would be disgusted! This continued until Voldemort was spitting up blood and had even begun to leak blood from his eyes as well. Abraxas eventually became fatigued and was forced to stop due to his weakened state. He looked down at Voldemort who was a bloody mess on the floor at this point.

"Now, I don't give a damn about redemption, that isn't what that was about. That was about exacting revenge for the imprisonment and using my power to try to fuel your own. You claim to be an all-powerful wizard, yet you tremble at my feet, just as you should because. You. Are. Pathetic. Even the Veela put up a better fight than you did," Abraxas sneered.

"I will let you live. Only because I know you want Severus Snape dead as well as I do and I can't focus on him as well as taking down Amara and her idiotic followers and finishing what I once started and that's to eradicate those vile creatures once and for all. So I'll leave him and his little red-headed whore for you. But make no mistake, I am only offering this leniency once. If you ever try to pull this stunt on me again, I will finish the job I will make it as agonizing and as slow as I possibly can. So with that, I have things to do, places to be. Catch you later, Tom Riddle," and with that Abraxas vanished.

Voldemort stood shakily to his feet. Many of his bones were crushed, and he had massive internal damage. This would take quite some time to recover from. Once the fear wore off, uncontrollable rage set in. That damn Angel would pay for reducing him to such pathetic levels! He began forming a plan in his mind as he awaited his recovery. First step is to take out Severus Snape and those who support him as initially planned. But, before killing him, he would use him to gather any information he had on Angels, specifically how to kill them. If Severus refuses to talk, he'll just torture the Evans girl until he gives it up. He is no fool and knows the lengths Severus will go to in order to protect her. Once this was done and he had what he needed, then he would kill Abraxas. It was going to be amazing and the thought brought a smile to his face despite the pain he was in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Abraxas did that to Voldemort and he's not even at full strength yet. Make no mistake, though, Voldemort does not give up. He had one moment of weakness, but that will only make him stronger and more pissed off. So stay tuned, because things are really starting to get going now especially with two very dangerous enemies who want our favorite couple dead.


	21. The Rapture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially finished writing this story! I will be posting a chapter every three days until we reach the end. I hope you enjoy, this certainly took some time to accomplish due to having nonstop homework.

After Severus had been released, he went to the one place he could go and that is home. Lily had not arrived yet and he knew she wouldn't for some time. Inias had also been sent back home after recovering enough to leave. The damage done to his soul was not severe and would likely repair itself in a week or two. Severus still wished he hadn't done that for him of all people. He has handled worse than Abraxas before. Once he arrived home, he walked inside. Violet and John were shocked to say the least. 

 

"Severus, why are you home early? Where is Lily?" Violet asked.

 

"That is a long, long story. It will take a while so here it goes," and with that, Severus began telling them everything. They understandably cringed when he told them what he did to Avery and his months of imprisonment as well as what Inias had done for him. 

 

"So, you were taken months ago, locked up in a hole. Why didn't Lily tell us any of this?" John asked. 

 

"I will bet Dumbledore," Severus sneered at the name, "forbade her from doing so. Manipulative old git has never had MY best interests at heart, only his own and his precious favorites. I can't believe I actually bought it when he said he wanted to do better for me. What I did to Avery, I don't regret it. Sure Abraxas may have influenced my actions a bit, but because of me Avery can't hurt anyone else. Dumbledore would have tried to redeem him which is impossible for those people," he finished. 

 

"Are you sure that he can't control you anymore, Severus?" Violet asked. 

 

"Yes. Inias made sure of that. Whatever he did to give him that influence is gone entirely and he can never re-enter my mind." 

 

"So, how is he? You mentioned that he burned off part of his soul or whatever to make this possible. Will there be any...effects from that?" John asked, curiously. 

 

"No, Amara said the damage wasn't bad enough to start affecting him in any major way. It will repair itself in a week or so, it is just a very uncomfortable process," Severus answered.

 

"So...how is Petunia doing?" Severus asked after several minutes of silence. "Last time I saw her, she was in a pretty rough spot, which was to be expected." 

 

"She is doing much better. I am sure she will appreciate you asking, despite the two of you never getting along. She has begun talking to people again," Violet answered. 

 

The three of them just sat chatting and catching up on everything that happened while Severus was gone. Lily would be home in just under two weeks and he could not wait to see her again. It has been way too long since he heard the sound of her voice. He silently vowed that they would never have to be apart for that long again as long as he could help it. 

* * *

Lily and Remus were, as usual, minding their own business. Amara had told them that Severus was free of Abraxas and Lily nearly threw up once she was told just what Inias had to do. Lily knew that damaging the soul is the most painful thing one can possibly experience. Remus was just too horrified to say anything. However, both were happy when Amara announced that Severus made it home safely and that he would be waiting for Lily there. She had to leave quickly, however, and seemed rather...afraid? Lily was not sure what was going on but she had a feeling it was nothing good, especially if Amara was scared. Had Abraxas broken free and threatened her? Shouldn't he still be too weak to do anything? This very thought made Lily herself afraid. If Abraxas is free, it wouldn't be long before he starts whatever it is he is going to do.

* * *

Several hours before Amara had contacted Lily and Remus, she was sitting in her office when one of her instruments picked up a foreign energy. She knew it was an Angel, but not one under her command. She picked up her weapon and went to search where the energy had been detected. She opened the door to the room, and found nothing inside. She shrugged and initially thought it may have just been a malfunction and decided she would look at the instrument later and repair it if need be. As she approached the door to the room, however, something urged her to turn around and when she did she was face-to-face with the one who would haunt many nightmares. Abraxas. 

 

"Hello, Amara. Glad to meet you in person. I have heard many different things about you. A true warrior. I also have to admit you are rather...pretty," Abraxas said as he ran a finger through a lock of Amara's long blonde hair. An action which she found utterly repulsive. 

 

"Don't touch me, you walking pile of filth! You are a disgrace among our pure, sacred race. How many innocent people have you killed? Thousands! You dare come here and call me pretty and then touch my hair as if you are my lover. I would never join you or be with you in any kind of way. The very idea of you makes me sick!" Amara yelled. 

 

Abraxas was instantly angered by her insults. He tried to use his magic to attack her, but she was unaffected as he was still in his weakened state. Amara was thankful for that, because she had no doubt she would be a bloody smear on the wall if he was at full power. Abraxas is the son of the oldest of the Old Ones and is therefore one of the most powerful beings in the world. Amara has the chance to strike him down right here and now before he regains his strength. With that thought, she raised her weapon and struck a blow. Her strike was true as Abraxas stumbled back and groaned in pain. She brought the blade upward and stabbed Abraxas through the torso. She was horrified as he did not explode like Angels do upon death. The wound simply flared for a second and then nothing. 

 

Abraxas was amused. "That hurts. But I have to apologize. Those puny daggers won't be enough to kill me. There is only one thing that can manage that and I know the person who has it, so I shall be paying him a visit. You should consider yourself lucky, Amara. Had I been at full strength, there would be nothing left of you to find." Abraxas ripped the dagger from Amara's hands and then vanished. Her dagger had done very little to Abraxas, only causing him pain for a brief moment. She knew what she had to do. She conjured a small vile and with a wave of her hand the blood Abraxas dripped on the floor began to flow into it. After stoppering the vial, she walked to the vault in her office, cut her hand and placed it on the handprint symbol. After several seconds, the locks disengaged and the vault opened. Inside was what seemed to be a small box. Inside the box was a certain silver dagger with small emerald green stones placed within the handle that sparkled in the light. The Emerald Dagger. This thing killed Abraxas once before, it would do so again. It was time to return it to its rightful owner. This would be Severus' only way to protect himself and his family. 

* * *

Severus was sitting up in his bedroom when Amara appeared in front of him and silenced the room with a wave of her hand. 

 

"I don't have a lot of time, Severus, so I'll get right to it. Abraxas is free, he is coming for you and he just tried to kill me. The only reason I am still alive right now is because he is still weak. I know for a fact that if you try to fight him, he will kill you. So I am going to give you something that will give you a chance. Something that is rightfully yours," she handed the box to him and he knew immediately what it was. 

 

"Are you sure this is a good idea? What if he manages to get it from me?" Severus asked. 

 

"I doubt that will happen because I have faith in you. If he does, however, I have plans for that. When you gave the Emerald Dagger to me, I did not just place it in my vault for safekeeping. I studied it meticulously in secret. I know exactly how Abraxas made it and I will be working to create an exact replica which I will be carrying on me to replace the dagger Abraxas stole from me when he tried to kill me. This will take a lot of time to do, but now that I know how, it is very possible." 

 

Severus opened the box and took the legendary weapon in his hands, as if to familiarize himself with it once more. 

 

"Abraxas is bad, Amara. Worse than Voldemort. You do what you have to do and when he gets here, I'll be ready." 

 

Amara nodded and then vanished. Severus looked down at the Emerald Dagger. He knows there is no way he will survive both Abraxas and Voldemort. But he will fight until he can't any longer, because that is all he can do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clear up the confusion at when events occurred: Abraxas confronts Amara, Severus goes home, Amara tells him what is going on and gives the Emerald Dagger back to him and then she goes to Lily and Remus.


	22. A Beautiful Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 22. Only two more to go woohoo! Hope you enjoy. Final chapter will be posted on 6/29 or 6/30.

Lily was glad that today was the last day and that she would be going home. She missed Severus so much, it was like having a constant stomach ache that refused to go away. Things just aren't the same without him here. Amara said that he's doing fine, but Lily isn't entirely sure she believes it until she sees Severus herself.

"You okay?" Mary asked from beside her and Remus.

"I'm fine. It's just been so long since I've seen him and I have no idea what he will be like after all that time away," Lily said.

"It just isn't the same without him around. I miss his sassy attitude," Mary agreed. "I understand why he did what he did especially after what Mulciber tried to do to me, but I also understand why Dumbledore wanted to get rid of him especially if he was a danger to others."

"I didn't see it happen myself. I was unconscious, you know that. Besides, you know it wasn't really him. Abraxas made him do it."

"Are you absolutely sure about that, Lily? Last summer he also killed to protect you. Abraxas wasn't around then. I like Severus, but you and I both know that he has a dark side of his own. No doubt thanks to that bastard father of his. He is good, but he can turn downright nasty if the circumstances call for it as we've all seen in his early years."

"Yeah I guess you're right. I try not to think about it too much though."

"I can't believe next year will be our final year," Remus threw in to lighten up the mood.

"I know. I will miss this place when we are done," Lily said.

"I will too. I won't miss the...unpleasant people, but I will miss Hogwarts itself," Mary agreed.

"I am not too sure I will entirely. My...you know what makes it very stressful for me. I would miss it if it weren't for that," Remus said.

"Well, hopefully in the future you won't have to," Mary said to him softly.

"Thank you, love. I hope so too, but given what...it is that could take years if it ever happens," Remus said as he took Mary's hand.

"It will. I believe in it," Mary said.

"So what are your plans for the summer guys? Anything interesting?" Lily asked.

"Not really. Usually summers are boring for me," Mary answered.

"Same. Just wait until our final year gets here and, of course, write to you guys." Remus also answered.

"We already know what you will be doing though, Lily." Mary said, her implication very obvious.

"Ugh...seriously?" Lily face-palmed at that.

"What? You are telling me you have never thought about doing it?"

"Well...maybe once or twice," Lily shyly admitted.

"Uh huh, sure. Only once or twice."

"Okay, enough of that now. I don't want to hear about Lily and Severus' sex life thank you very much," Remus cringed.

This continued on for hours. Just three friends being rather silly. These days things like this are rather rare especially with a Dark Lord gaining power by the day and an entirely new, much more dangerous threat that nobody even knows about. This is one of those times where Lily just can't be bothered to let these things burden her. Hours later, they had finally arrived at King's Cross. She bade Mary and Remus farewell and went to join her parents on the other side, only she was met by Inias before she got to the barrier.

"Inias, what are you doing here? Where are my parents?" Lily asked.

"I am going to take you home instead, Lily. Severus practically begged them to stay home, frantic that something terrible was going to happen if they came here today, so I went and told them I would go if only to make him feel better," Inias answered.

"What do you mean? What's going to happen? Lily asked, confused.

"I have no idea. Personally, I think he is just being paranoid. Now let's get going shall we? We're burning daylight. This might pinch a bit so prepare yourself," he said before he took her arm. The next thing Lily felt was the most uncomfortable feeling. It was as if she was being squeezed through a small tube.

"What the hell was that?" Lily asked.

"We just apparated. Not a very fun experience your first time, but it gets better with time. Now, go meet your parents and Severus inside. I'll be in touch," he said, before disappearing instead. Lily began walking up the steps.

In the meantime, Severus was indeed very frantic. Amara had just come by and warned him that Abraxas was waiting at King's Cross in the shadows to follow Lily home from there as he was unable to locate her house, courtesy of Amara. As Lily's parents are muggles and can't apparate, he would be able to follow their trail with ease. He immediately sent Inias a quick message telling him the short version of the incident and then went downstairs just as Lily's parents were about to leave.

"Ah, Severus. Want to come with us? We're about to go and pick Lily up," Violet asked.

"No. You guys cannot go to King's Cross. If you do something terrible will happen, I just know it," Severus said.

"What do you mean? What's going to happen?" John asked.

"If you guys go to King's Cross, Abraxas will be waiting for you. I have no idea what he wants, but knowing him it won't be anything good. He can't find us here, but he will follow you from the train station. Please stay home, I have asked Inias to take care of it."

"Severus, we can't just leave Lily there," Violet said.

"You won't be, Inias will bring her home. Please don't go, you guys are the closest thing to parents I have ever had and I won't let him kill you, not if I can help it."

Violet and John looked at each other before nodding.

"Okay, Severus, we won't go. But if Lily gets upset you're taking the heat for it especially if this is all for nothing," John said.

At that moment the door opened to reveal Lily. She had gotten home safe just like he knew she would. They immediately locked eyes with one another. She looked even more beautiful than the last time he saw her and he didn't think that was even remotely possible. She immediately ran to him and he picked her up and kissed her. He set her back down and just held her as she cried tears of happiness at finally seeing him again for the first time in nearly half a year. Violet and John did nothing to interrupt the beautiful reunion between their daughter and the love of her life. They couldn't bring themselves to do it, even if to welcome her home.

"I missed you so much, Sev. I had never felt so lost in my life than I did without you," she said in his ear.

"Me too, my beautiful flower. Me too," he said back and continued to hold her.

After several minutes they finally separated and sat down at the table.

"So, how was your term, Lily?" Violet asked.

"It was miserable, I am not going to lie. After Severus was gone, I just felt so...lost," Lily answered. Her parent's hearts broke at that comment. They knew she loved Severus dearly, but never understood just how deep the connection ran between the two of them. They had never witnessed such emotion between two people in their entire lives.

"But I am here now, Lily. I won't leave you again, I promise," Severus said and he kissed her hand softly.

"Did you do well in classes at least?" John asked Lily.

"I did. I didn't let it cause my quality of work to degrade, despite how hard it was," Lily answered.

The four of them talked and got caught up on everything. Severus never let go of Lily's hand the entire time and just savored the feeling of having her there beside him once again. It was her that kept him from losing his mind in that prison. The sheer determination of seeing her again and holding her in his arms. Little did he know that this happiness would very shortly come to an end.

* * *

 

Somewhere else...

Abraxas was furious. Nothing had gone to plan. Inias Prince had apparated Lily home. She was supposed to go home with her muggle parents! At least then he would be able to follow her and find out where they lived as Amara had hidden the location from him. He quickly tracked down Inias and tried to get the location from him, which also didn't quite work out.

"Where did you take Lily?" Abraxas demanded, raking the his stolen Celestial Dagger across Inias' chest, which caused him to groan in pain for a second.

"You think I am going to tell you?" Inias sneered.

"Yeah, I do." Abraxas tried to read Inias' mind, only to find that he couldn't. He tried harder, failing to notice that Inias had slipped a dagger down from his sleeve.

"I will tell you one thing, Abraxas. Burn in hell you psychopath," Inias said before driving the dagger through Abraxas' stomach. Abraxas immediately dropped to his knees in agonizing pain. This was almost as bad as when he had been stabbed by his own creation all those years ago and it was much worse than the blade Amara used against him that now rested in his hand. He felt blood pouring out of the wound at an alarming speed and knew that he could very well die for a second time if he didn't quickly fix the wound. It didn't kill him outright like the Emerald Dagger would have. It seems like whatever magic was used to make this weapon was designed to kill slow and painful.

"This isn't over," he said, before calling upon his already strained magic and disappearing.

He appeared back where he was before, his entire front covered in his own blood. He focused on his magic as hard as he could and after several moments the blood slowed and then eventually stopped entirely as the wound closed. This would only weaken him further, but he was already beginning to feel better. He quickly cleaned himself up and worked to form a new plan. He was met by someone who was obviously one of the pathetic Lord's Death Eaters.

"Wait, before you kill me, I know who you are looking for and where he lives," the Death Eater said.

"Where?" Abraxas demanded.

"Look to Cokeworth. Amara hid the location from you, but foolishly didn't consider us."

"If that's so, then why haven't you attacked?"

"Because the Dark Lord wants to wait and personally, I don't care for him. After watching you prove your dominance over him, I have wanted to join you, if you'll have me."

"You join me? Sounds interesting. But, you won't be useful to me right now as a soldier. Right now, you will spy on your previous Lord for me and report everything he does back to me is that understood?"

At the Death Eater's nod, he continued. "But as of right now, I own you and you will do everything I say no matter what. If you dare disobey, what Lord Voldemort does to his Death Eaters who make that mistake, I will give out tenfold and you _really_ don't want that to happen. Now, I have business to take care of, so return to your duties. I will call when I need you," he said before sending the Death Eater away.

Abraxas quickly apparated himself to Cokeworth. He focused on his magic, hoping to be able to locate Severus' magical signature. He would know it anywhere, he was in his head for some time before Inias did that pesky ritual after all. He found it at last, and appeared in front of the house. He noticed the black haired girl walking toward the door and put his hand on the dagger in his jacket before beginning his walk up behind her. This was going to be interesting...


	23. The Gloves are Coming Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the final chapter. I hope you guys have enjoyed the ride so far. Later today or tomorrow, probably tomorrow I will post the first chapter in the Year Six - Extras spin off thing whatever you want to call it. Not gonna say what the first chapter will be yet, but be on the lookout for it if you wish to see it.

Petunia had spent the last 15 minutes outside her home, enjoying the garden as always. She was not yet aware of the horror that would soon come. She decided to go back inside to get something to drink and as she went to turn the door handle, she felt something sharp press against her throat.

"Now, Petunia Evans, be a good girl and let me inside. Scream and I'll cut you right here," Abraxas said in a voice that would let anyone know just how serious he is.

Petunia whimpered in fear. She had no choice but to do as he asked, lest whoever this was kill her. Her life was finally getting back on track, she didn't want to die so soon.

"Ah, Petunia," Violet started, before seeing Abraxas standing behind her. She nearly screamed upon seeing the blade pressed against her eldest daughter's throat.

"Who the hell are you?!" John demanded. Abraxas just sent them all back with a wave of his hand.

Severus and Lily had come downstairs to see what the racket was about. Abraxas instantly turned to them and incapacitated them as well.

"Now, don't any of you try screaming for help. I have made it so the Muggles won't notice a thing. If any of you tries to call out to Amara, I will kill Petunia here. Now that would just be... _unfortunate_ ," Abraxas said with a sneer.

"What do you want?" Lily asked.

"Severus here knows what I want. Give it to me and I'll be on my merry way. Maybe I'll let a few of you live while I'm at it."

"What if I tell you to go to hell? Because that's my answer," Severus responded.

"Well then, have it your way," Abraxas said. He then brought the blade downward and stabbed it through Petunia's stomach. Normally that would be an instant kill, but because Petunia isn't magical, it had no special effect on her. It wasn't the Emerald Dagger after all.

Petunia dropped to her knees and was soon laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Her blood was beginning to pool beneath her. She knew that this was the end. This...whatever he was had just killed her. All because Severus didn't give him what he wanted.

"NO!" Lily screamed. Abraxas just had a sadistic smile on his face.

"You bastard!" Severus growled, attempting to break free of Abraxas' hold. It just wasn't working. Lily, however, had managed to get her wand into her hand and attempted to stun Abraxas, only to be met with a sneering face. He walked over to her and picked her up by her throat as easily as if he were lifting a piece of paper.

"You really think that is going to work on me, you imbecile? The Pathetic One tried to use the Killing Curse on me. It did nothing," he finished. Just as he prepared to kill Lily, Severus had broken free.

Severus watched as Abraxas held Lily against the wall. He saw him raise the blade high for a killing blow and he knew he couldn't let this happen. He focused as hard as he could and Abraxas' bindings had snapped.

"Hey, Abraxas!" Severus shouted, his eyes alight with their usual purple glow. Abraxas turned to him and that is when Severus unleashed everything he had. The massive wave of energy threw Abraxas across the room and caused the entire house to shake. Many of the glass objects were instantly shattered and the cupboards were ripped clean off their hinges. Severus then raised his hand and said an incantation which banished Abraxas from the house and sent him far away.

Severus went over to Petunia and knew it wasn't good. He quickly felt for a pulse, hoping she was still alive. He found one, although it was weak. He placed his hand over the wound and allowed his magic to do its thing. His hand lit up with a bluish-white energy and after several seconds, Petunia woke up as the wound healed and the blood had vanished.

"Is he gone?" Petunia asked, her voice laced with fright.

"Yes. He's not dead, but I sent him far away. He won't be coming back," Severus said.

With Abraxas gone, Violet and John were also released from their hold and flung themselves on their eldest daughter and then Severus himself. Lily followed suit and they were all thankful that Severus had managed to get rid of Abraxas, who would surely have killed them.

"What did he want?" Violet asked.

"He wanted the Emerald Dagger. It is the only thing that can kill him. He won't be getting it, though. I will make sure of that," Severus said with determination.

"What will we do? What if he comes back?" Lily asked.

"I'll speak to Amara. He must have found a loophole in the wards she set up. I'll ask her to secure it better," Severus answered.

As the adrenaline wore off, Severus began to feel lightheaded. He knew this was magical exhaustion. He used up practically all of his reserves to stop Abraxas and then send him away. It was a miracle he had enough left to save Petunia's life. Amara chose that moment to show up.

"We could have used your help five minutes ago!" Lily raged upon seeing her.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't know he was here until my wards went off saying there was a massive discharge of Celestial energy in this area," Amara answered.

"He nearly killed my sister! He would have killed us too. You really suck at your job. Nice to know you care enough about us to show up in an amount of time that we would all be dead had it not been a miracle," Lily said.

"Lily, I am sorry. I thought the wards were foolproof."

"I don't want to hear it. In fact, Angel or no Angel, you can go to hell!" Lily said, before leaving the room.

Amara turned to Severus. Although he did not have the same look of absolute rage on his face that Lily did, she could tell he was angry too.

"Don't look at me, Amara. Also, don't think that I am going to let you off the hook either. You should have been monitoring the wards better. You knew he was coming after us, you even warned me about this weeks ago and yet you show up five minutes after I had to exhaust my magical core entirely to not only banish him but to save Petunia who was bleeding out on the floor after he had stabbed her," Severus said.

"Sev..." Amara started.

"Amara," Severus interrupted. "I'll look into forgiving you some other time. Right now, I can't even look at you. Just go," Severus said. Had he turned around he would have noticed the tears in her eyes. She then vanished without a word. Severus shrugged his shoulders and went off in pursuit of Lily.

Later on that night, Severus was sitting awake in his bed after everyone else had gone to sleep. He took the Emerald Dagger out of its box and looked down at it. If only he had this with him when Abraxas came by, he could have ended him right then and there. He was still angry that Amara was negligent with her wards. He also made a silent vow to right there in that moment.

"Alright Abraxas. You want the Emerald Dagger back so badly? I will give it to you then...sharp end first. You attacked my family so the gloves are coming off. You are going to regret ever fucking with me," Severus said, taking the Emerald Dagger in his hands to signify just how serious he was with his words.


End file.
